Round and Round With You
by Wilia
Summary: Old friends find themselves continually colliding with each other through love, loss and life. AU - Sen/Shi; all pairs involved.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Sailor Moon.

* * *

Gradually, Serena Shields woke up, her awareness returning to her in bits and pieces. A soft smile stole over her face as she felt her husband pull her closer to himself as they lay spooning in bed. Serena glanced down at his arm wrapped snugly around her waist, and felt his warm breath against the back of her neck. If his steady, even breaths were anything to go by, Darien was still gone to the world.

As slowly as she could, so as not to disturb his slumber, she rolled over in order to face Darien. With his eyes closed and an expression of peaceful bliss on his face, she was reminded of the little boy that used to pull at her pigtails. Serena smiled, thinking that those moments almost seemed a lifetime away. Her eyes traced the planes and angles of his face and she couldn't hold back the hum of approval that escaped her.

Mmmm...her love-muffin was _fine. _Unable to resist, she raised herself up onto her elbow and leaned over him, pressing light kisses along his jaw line. Serena leaned back and took in his jet black hair sticking up in all directions against the pillows and the warm hues of his olive toned skin in the morning light. After two years of marriage, Serena still found it hard to believe that she would get to wake up next to this man for life.

Darien stirred lightly and Serena paused beside him, but when it was apparent he wasn't going to wake up, she pressed one more kiss along his jaw line. Her eyes darted to the clock and she sighed at the time, while running her fingers through her sleep-mussed hair. It was 11 am. Serena was supposed to be at a meeting with her girls, like, now. Serena sighed figuring she might as well get ready. She removed herself from Darien's embrace and got out of bed, heading straight for their ensuite bathroom.

She stripped out of her pajamas and stepped into the tub and turned the faucets, fussing until she had the temperature she was looking for. In minutes, steam was fogging up the mirrors but Serena could count herself fully awake now. Once she was finished, she reached for her towel from the rack placed near the tub and dried off before wrapping it around herself and stepping out of the tub. Serena made her way to the full length mirror in the corner of her bathroom and looked over herself critically.

Gone were the lengthy blonde locks she'd insisted on having throughout her childhood, she wore her hair just below her shoulders now. Serena pursed her lips and turned to the side to eye her own profile. She'd lost most of the baby fat, all except for those last fifteen pounds that kept her petite frame looking "ferociously voluptuous" as one of her best friends, Mina Harris, would put it. Serena puffed out her cheeks and blew out a breath while staring at her reflection. She wasn't necessarily dissatisfied with herself but that didn't mean she was satisfied either. Serena closed her eyes and hung her head.

"None of that, now."

Serena squeaked as arms grabbed her around her middle, pulling her back into a firm chest. Realizing who it was, Serena leaned back, enjoying the fact that she could. She opened her eyes and watched her husband watching her reflection in the mirror.

"Hey baby," she greeted, her own arms coming up to rest over his arms. "Did you just wake up?"

"Mmm," Darien mumbled, lowering his head onto the top of Serena's head. "I heard the shower running. You going to meet the girls?"

Serena nodded and turned in his arms, snuggling into his warmth. "We're finishing up the last few details for the surprise party for your parents' anniversary next week. Everything is pretty much done, we're just tying up loose ends. What are you going to do today?"

"You're amazing, you know? They'll love this surprise." Darien pressed a gentle kiss on Serena's forehead, chuckling at the flush that rose on her skin. "I was actually gonna drop in on Mom and Dad today. I've gotta pick up Dee, she needs a ride out to campus. We're all probably going to have lunch together, so don't worry about me for today."

"Hmm," Serena sighed. "When do you ever give me a reason to worry about you?" She looked up and gave him a dimpled smile. "Well, if you insist, I'll probably be out for most of today then."

Darien smiled and leaned back to catch Serena's gaze. "Shall I get some breakfast started then?"

Serena swung her arms around his neck and went onto her tiptoes to smack a big one on Darien's lips.

"I knew I married you for a reason!" Serena replied while shooing him off and tilting her head to admire the view from behind as he walked away. It was then that she caught sight of the time and groaned before rushing to finish getting ready for the day.

* * *

"Whyyyyy, do we meet so early on Sunday mornings?"

Ami Anderson rolled her eyes and hid an amused smile by turning away towards Rei Hino's wall-to-wall bookcase and the book on nature photography that she'd been perusing. She exchanged an amused glance with Mina Harris, who was sprawled across Rei's queen-sized bed and looking quite sleepy herself. Mina shook her head and put a finger to her lips and inclined her head towards the pair facing off by the bedroom door. They watched as Rei rounded on Serena, hands on hips and her eyebrow arched in that Hino way.

"Oh, no, no, no. _You _were the last one to arrive. You're _two hours _late and I _know_ you had time to eat something before coming." Rei finished her mini tirade by crossing her arms over her chest, but the girls could see the humour in her eyes. Ami noted with a small smile how time and a close friendship had tempered the fire that used to fuel Rei's temper. At one time, the annoyance and scolding would've been just a bit more harsh, a bit more real. This scolding was merely a habit, and done from a fondness for the guilty party – who was sheepishly rubbing her head and avoiding Rei's gaze. Rei sniffed haughtily but couldn't hold back her grin of welcome. Immediately, Serena's face brightened when she caught sight of it.

"Aw, Rei! You know how I get if I don't eat in the morning." Serena breezed by Rei after pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Good morning, girls! I brought snacks but Grandpa confiscated them." Serena turned to Rei. "He was mumbling something about how you never let him eat anything good?"

Rei raised her eyes heavenward and and sighed deeply. "If it's not one thing, it's another with that old man." She turned towards Ami and Mina and shrugged apologetically. "Let me just deal with this and then we can get started, ok?"

Ami nodded while Mina sleepily waved Rei off. Rei turned towards the door and marched resolutely down the hallway. Serena whistled after her and dropped her purse by Rei's dresser.

"Oops. I didn't mean to get Grandpa in trouble!" Her round, blue eyes widened in concern. "I mean, I know he's got to be watching his diet but I can't help it. He's ridiculously hard to say no to."

Serena shrugged and poked Mina's shoulder. "Shove over, I need some bedspace, too!"

Mina grumbled but rolled over nonetheless. Serena yawned and stretched out beside Mina. Ami's attention wandered away from the sleepy duo and around Rei's room and she took in the clean lines, the classic modern decor and the blend of sophisticated and simple. That was Rei in a nutshell, she supposed. There was no clutter, nothing unnecessary and as always, the room was spotless. The only items that seemed out of place were the pictures of the girls framed in corny or gaudy frames they'd given to Rei as jokes.

Ami picked up the picture frame closest to her and smiled tenderly remembering the day the photo had been taken. It had been just after their high school graduation, six years ago. Rei had graduated from a private high school, but her graduation had taken place earlier, allowing her to be present for their graduation.

She smiled as she looked at Mina and Serena at the forefront of the photo, with almost identical megawatt smiles, fingers raised in their trademark 'V-for-victory' signs. Though they were both blonde and blue eyed; where Serena was petite and curvy, Mina was lithe and willowy and had several inches on Serena. Rei stood behind them, eyes rolled heavenward, hand on hip and a soft, amused smile on her face – her dark eyes glowing with happiness. Beside Rei, Ami stood with the fifth and final member of their close circle, blinding smiles on each face and their arms around each other's shoulders. Which was a feat, since Lita McKenzie was the tallest of them all and Ami was the second shortest, after Serena. Ami sighed and ran a finger over Lita's face. Serena noticed and tilted her head up at Ami.

"What's up, hon?"

Ami met Serena's gaze and then looked over at Mina who had her eyebrow raised and waiting. The Harris version wasn't as intimidating, as the Hino eyebrow per se, but it could get a girl talking.

"Lita called me." Ami paused and looked away from the two faces that were now gaping at her in disbelief. "Or rather, we've been in touch."

Rei chose that moment to return to the room, a take-out bag from Serena's favourite local bakery in hand. "Sorry, Grandpa made off with some of the scones, I-" Rei trailed off, noticing the odd atmosphere in the room. She looked back and forth between Ami and the two who had taken over her bed.

"What's going on?" Rei asked with a deliberate slowness. She directed the question at Ami, sensing who had dropped the bomb. Rei placed the bag on her desk and moved towards the trio.

Before Ami could reply, Serena bounded off the bed and grabbed the book from Ami's grasp, placed it back on the shelf and then pulled her to the bed where Mina was slowly sitting up to make room for Ami.

"Ami says that Lita phoned her. As in had contact with her. As in she's still alive and oh, I'm going to make her see stars. How could she go six years without contacting any of us? Don't we mean anything to her?" Serena's voice broke and tears filled her big blue eyes.

Mina pulled Serena into her side while Rei silently grabbed a box of tissues for Serena. Ami wasn't sure how to proceeed at this point. There were things she could say but it would be up to Lita to fill everyone else in on what she wanted them to know.

Rei gracefully sat on the floor at the end of the bed, at Ami's feet, her feet folded underneath her. She gently took the photo from Ami's hands and stared down at it.

"She's been on my mind lately." Rei mentioned, biting her lower lip as she thought about their estranged friend.

Mina cleared her throat and turned to Ami. "What did she say? Is she all right?"

Ami sighed once more. "You guys have to understand, I can't say much about her situation. She asked me to keep it to myself until she could let you know what she wants you to know-"

Mina cut in before Ami could get anymore out. "How long have you been in contact with her?"

"About three months, or so."

A stunned silence met Ami's answer.

Serena met Ami's gaze with a sad expression. "I'll understand if you can't tell us what's going on with her but why did she only come to you?"

Ami didn't take offense to the question, knowing Serena was really asking why Lita hadn't seen fit to trust the rest of them when they cared for her just as much as Ami did. Ami took a deep breath and launched into the explanation Lita had given her.

"Lita said that she didn't want to burst your newlywed bubble, Serena. She didn't want to add to your troubles, Rei, because she thought that taking care of your Grandpa after his health scare would be more important to you. Mina, she didn't come to you because you'd go charging in to rescue her and what she's dealing with isn't something that can be solved overnight. She came to me because she said I'd be most likely to keep quiet the longest."

"Yup," Mina nodded. "That sounds about as bull-headed McKenzie as it can get."

Serena huffed and blew her nose noisily into a tissue.

"Ami," Rei called out softly. "What's going on with Lita?"

Ami paused, conflicted over what she could say but settled for, "I invited her to the anniversary surprise party. She said that she wouldn't miss it for the world. You girls will be able to talk to her then."

Serena nodded determinedly and wiped a few stray tears away. Rei sighed and patted Serena's knee while Mina gave Ami a resolute nod.

"Six years of silence aside, our girl needs us and we'll be there for her." Mina waited until she knew she had everyone's attention. "Now, there's not much we can do about Lita right now so let's get back to what we came here for."

Serena immediately piped up, "Darien's having lunch with his parents today. Dee and Darien will make sure their schedule stays clear for the party next weekend."

Rei shook her head and smiled while glancing at her open doorway. "Grandpa can't wait to be MC. He's been practicing all of his wedding jokes on Chad for the past two weeks. Chad pretty much runs away the moment they come into the same room."

Mina chuckled and turned to Ami. "Ames?"

"I've got all my equipment ready. Just make sure I get time with the family before the reception starts to take photos while everyone is still looking presentable," Ami replied, crossing her legs at the ankles and leaning back against the bed's headboard to get comfy.

Mina gave her a jaunty salute. "Righty-o! I've confirmed the guest list, which reminds me, Rei – my brother is bringing Celina."

Rei pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, trying to place the name. "Oh! That pretty brunette, right? The one in the same building as my newspaper?"

"Mmhmm!" Mina wiggled her eyebrows at Rei. "Does that bother you in anyway?"

Serena giggled and nudged Rei gently with her knee. "Yeah, Rei. Does that bother you?"

Ami wisely chose to keep her mouth shut as she watched the colour rise on Rei's face.

"Why should Jaden's choice of company matter to me? We've been over for a year now. We're just friends," Rei explained. "I've wished him well and I hope that he finds happiness with the right woman."

"Ugh. You two are ridiculous. You're the right woman for my brother. My whole family thinks so! The whole world thinks so, and so do these two! Right?"

Serena nodded enthusiastically but Ami put up a hand saying, "I have kept and will keep my opinions on the matter to myself, thank you."

Mina and Serena groaned at Ami's usual play for diplomacy and Rei nodded proudly at Ami.

"You see?" Rei exclaimed. "That's a _real _friend, right there."

Ami then turned to Serena. "Oh! I put the seating arrangements together with the list and preferences you gave me. In order for it to work, I've got to place Rei with Jay and his guest. Jay will just have to have both of of his hands full, I guess."

Serena and Mina took one look at the betrayed look on Rei's face and the look of innocence on Ami's face and burst out laughing. Rei reached over and lightly pinched Ami's thigh while Mina reached over to give Ami a high-five.

"Really, Ames?"

Ami simply shrugged and gave Rei a small smile, her blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Oh!" Serena exclaimed, wiping tears from her eyes. "We are so proud, Ames."

"I do what I can," Ami answered, with a straight face.

"Anyway," Rei drawled, drawing out the word to catch their attention. "On the day of, the ladies are getting ready at Serena and Darien's, right? The guys are bringing Art here and doing their thing and we're taking Luna over there?"

"Yup," Serena nodded. Her stomach grumbled loudly and she pressed a hand sheepishly to her stomach. "So, how about some lunch before we continue?"

* * *

Lita closed the door to the house she'd lived in for the past four years. Her heart was breaking all over again at having to say goodbye to the memories that had kept her running for two years. Yet, this was something that had to be done.

She ran over a mental checklist making sure that all loose ends that need to be tied had been tied and put away. Lita turned away from the house, satisfied that she'd done as much as she could. She moved towards the moving truck parked in the driveway and the woman standing by the open passenger door. Her late husband, Freddie Parker, had looked so much like his mother, it often hurt to look at Marie.

"We're leaving," Lita gently stated.

Her mother-in-law nodded and climbed up to kiss Lita's two children strapped into their respective booster and car seats, one last time. Lita noted the tears running down her cheeks as she whispered sweet promises in their ears. When Marie was finished, she stepped down and closed the door and Lita came to stand in front of her mother-in-law but she couldn't find the words for this goodbye. Marie had this way of making her feel like a bumbling teen all over again.

"Marie, I-"

Marie Parker held up a hand, her eyes red with tears and her lips tight with anguish. "Just go. You've taken my son and now you're taking my grandchildren. Just go."

Lita willed the tears and anger away, knowing it would do nothing. Marie was content to blame her for everything that had gone wrong with their family and Lita could understand the hurt enough to let it be. She'd tried, oh, she'd tried to make her peace with Marie. Her mother-in-law would have none of it.

"Um," Lita cleared her throat. "You have our number, feel free to come visit us. You're still their grandmother – the kids still need you. I still want you in their lives."

Marie stepped away from Lita and the truck and moved towards her house. "I don't know. I just don't know. Drive safely." With those final words, she returned to her house and closed the door behind her.

Lita took a deep, calming breath and willed herself not to cry in front of the children. She took out her cellphone and looked for the last number dialled and called it. There were three rings before a male voice answered.

"Hello? Lita, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Sugar, I've been waiting for your phone call. What's happening?"

Lita couldn't help but grin at her old nickname.

"We're just setting off now. We just said goodbye to Marie and the kids are loaded up. We should be there in two hours, or so."

"You check in every half hour, you hear? Call me when you're near Colford, we're waiting for you."

Lita took a deep shuddering breath and lost her ability to speak for a moment. The weight of what was happening was sinking in on her a little, crowding in on the emotional distance she'd tried to keep regarding the whole situation.

"You're a strong girl and I'm proud of you. Come on home, now. Come home to people that love you and miss you and _want_ you."

"I'm coming. We're coming. I'll talk to you again soon."

"See you soon."

Lita hung up and made her way to the driver's door. She swung it open and jumped in, a strange sense of something bittersweet tingling in her stomach. Lita turned in her seat and let her gaze lovingly settle on the two pairs of wide eyes that stared curiously back at her. Charlotte, her oldest at five years old, had her daddy's brown eyes and straight brown hair but she also had her mother's freckles. Marcus, her four year old, had his daddy's brown hair, but his mother's loose wavy texture and her green eyes. Neither of them had come out with the McKenzie auburn hair, and she used to laugh with Freddie about that.

Lita shook her head and focussed on moving on. This was her world, right in front of her. For them, she would make this change.

"Mommy, are we leaving Grandma forever?" Charlotte asked.

"No, Charlie-baby. She'll come visit us sometimes. We're just going to go live where Mommy grew up, like I told you, remember? We're going to live with Mama and Papa."

Charlie nodded her understanding and turned to take her brother's hand in her own. "Marc, we're going on a trip, ok? We're going to meet all of our aunties and uncles that we never met before. We'll see Mama and Papa everyday!"

Marc, her little man, nodded in his sweet, quiet way and looked to his mother for reassurance. Lita leaned over and kissed them both before slipping on her seatbelt and starting the ignition.

Lita took another deep breath. "Here we go!" She smiled as the kids parroted her and shifted into reverse to back out of the driveway and leave this part of her life behind. Well, leave as much as she could behind anyway. She was going home – they were going home and that was what mattered most right now.

* * *

**AN: **Have you made it to the end? I appreciate it. Let me know what you think! The story will be slow-moving at first so hang in there. It'll get better.

I made up the town's name, Colford. There may actually be a Colford somewhere in this big, wide world but this imaginary town (made up for the purposes of this story) was not meant to resemble it. Anyway, this could become a monster of a story...the good kind, I hope!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Sailor Moon.

* * *

By the time Darien pulled into his parents' driveway, it was late afternoon. Life as a high school teacher often meant having more homework than the students themselves, so he'd decided to stay in and get as much marking and planning done for the next few weeks as he could. He got out of the car and looked around his old neighbourhood. With the sun getting low in the sky and the trees beginning to herald springtime, it truly was Colford's suburbia at its finest.

He took the house across the street for example. The Harris' house was colourful and slightly cluttered, inside and outside. It had the look of a home that was well lived in and with seven people in one house, it certainly _was_ well lived in. With a family that large, Darien often heard Jaden Harris – one of his closest friends growing up- complaining and threatening to move out but everyone knew he would never go through with it until he had his mother's blessing. Which, of course, wouldn't come until she knew without a reasonable doubt that he had a woman who could and would take care of him forever and for always.

The mama's boy.

If one was looking for the suburban ideal, they would only have to look at the neighbours to the right of his parents' home. Nathan Thompson, another close friend, would claim that his parents' perfectly manicured lawn and garden was only a symptom of empty nest syndrome. Nate hadn't been living at home since college and his little sister Lana was currently living on campus, leaving Nate's parents to themselves at home. Darien pursed his lip. Either way, at least lawn care wasn't his responsibility this time around.

He'd had experience taking care of that lawn over many summers with his two chums. Actually, he'd had experience taking care of almost all of the lawns in the neighbourhood while growing up. Along with Jay, and generally _because_ _of_ Jay, they'd been known as the Three Musketeers of the neighbourhood getting into trouble and growing up as boys do. Darien never scoffed at the blessing of being able to live and grow up near two of his best friends. Yet, he had questioned it once or twice when they were sentenced to yet another summer of lawn work without pay as punishment for one of Jay's schemes.

He shook his head to remove his thoughts from memory lane, a small sentimental smile on his face. Darien walked up to the front door and was about to ring the doorbell when the door swung open and he suddenly had his arms full of his sister.

"Slow down, Dee! What's going on?"

Dee, stepped back and wrinkled her pert little nose at him. "You're the only one that calls me Dee, Dork-ien. Everybody else calls me Diana!"

Darien chuckled and motioned up and down the street. "Maybe in college but no one on this street calls you Diana, _Dee_."

Dee rolled her eyes and tilted her head to peek behind her brother. Not finding what she was looking for she squinted up at him asking, "Where's Serena?"

"She might still be with the girls. They're finishing up the details for next weekend," Darien answered.

"Why aren't you with her, dork? They're your parents and her in-laws." Dee paused and shook her head as if disagreeing with herself. "Nevermind, the party is in capable hands. You'd have us all doing math equations or something equally boring all night."

Darien held a hand over his heart and closed his eyes. "You wound me, making a crack at my profession like that. Aren't you clever?" He cracked an eye open to catch her reaction.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I'm going over to Lana's for a bit. She has a book I need for my Psyc class and we're going to watch some movies. " Dee went on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Darien's cheek. "I'm all packed up, but I'll be going back to campus with Lana, ok?"

Darien patted her head affectionately asking, "You sure?"

"Yeah, it just makes everything easier. Oh! Before I forget, Mom and Dad have been acting really weird all weekend. Like jumping everytime the phone rings kind of weird. I don't know if they're onto the party but play it cool, yeah?"

"Yes, yes – just go. Lana's waiting." Darien gestured towards Nate's little sister who was standing outside her front door, hands on her hips and looking for all the world, like a younger version of Nate's mom, Ruth Thompson. Darien waved at Lana, smiling wider when she waved back and calling out, "Hey Lana! Long time no see!"

"I know! You're looking good, married man! Say hi to Serena for me, ok?" Lana transferred her gaze to Dee, who was still standing beside Darien. "Giiiirl, I know you ain't standing there watching me, watching you!"

"All right, all right! I'm coming!" Dee turned back to Darien. "Just give me a call, ok? And _play it cool_!"

Darien chuckled as he watched Diana jog over to Lana only to be scolded for something or other. Jay, Nate and Darien had long since passed their 'Three Musketeers' mantle on to Dee, Lana and Melanie Harris; the only other Harris daughter, besides Mina, who also happened to be their age. Yet, the girls refused to get into even half as much trouble and everyone loved them much more than they had with the boys at that age.

Go figure.

Without anymore interruptions, he made his way into the house, removed his shoes and shut the door behind him. Darien listened for the familiar sounds of his parents moving around the home or watching a movie but all he could hear was the low murmur of voices coming from the dining room. He sniffed the air and celebrated inwardly – he'd come home in time for pasta night. He quietly moved towards the voices and managed to catch the last bit of a conversation his dad was having with someone. Was it Mom?

"Come on home, now. Come home to people that love you and miss you and _want_ you."

Not Mom, then.

He rounded the corner in time to see his mother standing behind her husband who was seated at the dining room table with a phone to his ear. His mother had her hands on his dad's shoulders, an anxious look on her face. Dad had his eyes closed and a hand pressed to the side of his head. He spoke again.

"See you soon."

That must have been the end of the conversation because his dad hung up the phone, put it on the table and placed his hands over his wife's hands. Darien furrowed his brow and stepped forward into the room, making sure to make some noise to alert them to his presence. The moment they realized that Darien had entered the room, both parents looked up and something that suspiciously resembled guilt flashed across both faces. Dee was right, something was up, but he was beginning to suspect it didn't have anything to do with the party.

"Mom? Dad? Is everything all right? I just thought I'd drop by but if this is a bad time..." Darien made sure to provide them with an out, respecting the fact that their personal business was still personal.

"No! No, it isn't a bad time, honey." His mother, Luna Williams was a beautiful woman. Her dark and delicate features were a striking match when paired with her husband's much lighter and aristocratic features. Both were tall and slender and often seemed like they belonged on a cover of some magazine. Or at least, that was what Serena had always claimed. Darien could admit that even into their forties, they'd retained a youthfulness that had stemmed from a life of happiness and stability with each other and their family.

"Darien, you didn't bring Baby-girl with you?" Art Williams questioned, craning his head this way and that to check behind his son.

Darien rolled his eyes at his father's penchant for nicknames, especially regarding the ladies in his life. "Am I not allowed to come home without my wife? Dee just asked me the same thing outside."

"No." Art's reply was swift and immediate, a teasing smile already directed towards his son.

Luna clucked her tongue and went towards her son, arms outstretched in welcome. "Say what you want, my baby is always allowed in my house. You're looking well, Darien. What brings you over?"

When Luna smiled like that, it was easier to see whom Diana had taken after. Though, her features weren't as dark as her mother or quite as white-blonde as her father, she'd gotten the best of both worlds. Dee's dark hair and light blue eyes on her pale, elfin face paired with her mother's long legs made for a combo that often had Art and Darien looking over her shoulder for unwanted attention.

Darien leaned over to gather his mother into his arms. "I just wanted to make sure you were still letting Dee, Serena and I treat you both for your anniversary next week." He looked hopefully down at Luna and then over her shoulder at Art. "We just want to do something special for you."

Luna beamed up at her son. "Of course we are. We wouldn't miss it for the world." She stepped away from Darien to look at her husband who had gotten up to move towards the two of them. "Right, honey?"

"Speak for yourself," Art huffed, taking her around the waist and pulling her to himself. "I'd like to think that I could show you a thing or two about how to spend an anniversary all by myself, Love." He lowered his face to her neck, and pressed a quick kiss on a point just behind her ear, forcing Luna to angle her head. Luna let a flustered giggle escape and Art raised a teasing eyebrow at Darien.

"That, boy, is how a man gets it done." Before Art had anymore time to be smug, Luna reached up and smacked the back of his head. "Ow! Not in front of the boy, my sweet!"

Darien chuckled and let himself be led by his mother when she took him by the hand and made him take a seat at the dining room table.

"I was just about to put dinner on the table, sit and talk with your father." Luna disappeared into the kitchen leaving Art and Darien alone in the dining room. Art stared at Darien, with his lips pursed and Darien could only hold his breath wondering what was coming next.

"You need a haircut," Art stated, in his usual blunt fashion.

"I know." Darien reached up to pat his hair. "Serena's been telling me that for a couple of weeks. She says that only you and Kai can pull off manly ponytails, so I shouldn't try." He was referring to Malakai Rasmussen, the third and last of his closest friends, aside from Jay and Nate.

Art's gaze sharpened and he tilted his head as he continued to study Darien. Already used to this behaviour, Darien wasn't uncomfortable but he knew _something_ was coming. "You look like your father, like that. A carbon copy. It shouldn't be – but it is amazing how much more you become like him with every year that passes."

There was a moment of silence as Darien absorbed Art's words. Meanwhile, Art sat down at the table across from him and fiddled with the phone he'd left at his seat. Darien stared at Art. He took in the few tired lines that had crept in over time, becoming more familiar to him than Art's face without them. The truth remained that while Diana was Luna and Art's biological daughter, he wasn't their biological son.

He'd been born to Connor and Teresa Shields, both of whom had been college professors. They'd passed when he was five years old in a car accident that had claimed their lives immediately. His parents had been heading home from the airport, having returned from a research project that had taken them out of the country. They'd been a few blocks from home when they were hit by a drunk driver who had seen fit to drive in his impaired state. Darien had been staying with Luna, his mother's best friend, who had only been dating Art at the time.

The will that emerged claimed Luna and Art as his legal guardians and because of that reason, they'd sped up their marriage plans. Luna and Art had already partnered up to open a coffee shop and marriage had been inevitable but to this day, Art often gave the credit for their marriage to Darien. He often claimed that Darien hadn't given Luna the chance to play hard to get for as long as she'd probably wanted to.

Luna and Art had been content with their life with Darien but when Diana arrived – he'd been eight at the time – their little family was complete. That is, until Luna had persuaded Art to become foster parents. Darien shook his head to clear his thoughts. That was all in the past now.

Art cleared his throat. "You're my son, period. No one, not even you, could say otherwise. It's just important that you know..."

"I know," Darien assured him, understanding how Art preferred that Darien knew where he came from. A thought occured to Darien and he decided to address it with Art, who was more likely to say something he shouldn't, than Luna. "Dad, when I came in earlier, what was going on? The conversation you were having seemed pretty heavy. You guys doing all right?"

Art sighed deeply and called out to Luna in the kitchen who emerged with a salad bowl and a pitcher of lemonade. She placed the items on the table in front of her boys. Luna met her husband's gaze and took a deep breath. "I don't know how we expected to keep this under wraps for long. Let me just grab the pasta and garlic bread, I made plenty so make sure you boys eat up."

Darien sat quietly biding his time. Obviously, this was something big, but what was going on? Luna returned with the food and set it in front of the boys before taking a seat at the head of the table, between the men.

"Lita's coming home today, to stay. She'll be moving into the basement suite." Luna began dishing out salad for Darien and Art. "We've been in contact with her since she left us but we've kept quiet about it in respect with her wishes."

Darien sat back, his mouth opening and closing, as he tried to find the words. He thought about what this would mean for his parents and Diana. He wondered how Serena and the girls would react to the news. He wasn't quite sure how he felt and whether he wanted to be happy or relieved or annoyed.

Lita had come into the Williams' household as a foster child, when she was entering high school. The Williams' had been her second foster home and life hadn't been easy for her in her first foster home after her parents had passed in an airplane accident. Darien had never gotten to unwrap the full story from Lita, who had tended to keep tight-lipped about her past but they'd had that loss in common. In fact, it had taken a year and a half for Lita to let her defenses down and let herself be loved by people that wanted to love her.

Despite the progress made, Darien had seen the way she hadn't been completely able to settle into life in Colford. She'd been happy, yes, but certainly not content. Darien started as Luna's voice took him from the depths of his thoughts back to the present reality.

"We wanted to keep things quiet, so that she'd be able to settle in comfortably tonight, but..." Luna trailed off to take a bite of her salad.

"Keeping things quiet in this neighbourhood is hopeless," Art finished for his wife.

Darien didn't know what to ask but he figured he was allowed to know something about anything at this point. Before he could say anything though, the doorbell sounded and the phone that had been left on the table rang at the same time. Everyone looked at each other as Art nodded knowingly.

"Told you so."

"Darien, grab the door and see who it is. Art, you answer the phone it could be Lita checking in." Luna ordered.

"Yes ma'am," the men answered in unison, already rising to do Luna's bidding. Art took the phone into the kitchen in order to take the phone call away from listening ears. Darien excused himself from the table and made his way down the hall to the front door. The voices on the other side were low, male and...very excited. Darien groaned. Leave it to this neighbourhood to congregate on the exact doorstep they weren't needed at. He opened the door.

"What's going on, man? You didn't tell me you were coming home! I had to find out when I saw your car in the driveway," Jay Harris complained. His cornflower blue eyes bright with excitement and his medium-length light ash blonde hair tousled and seemingly uncared for. It probably hadn't been cared for, but Jay would just say he meant to go for that messy, bedhead look that the ladies dug. Out of his three friends, Darien and Jay most resembled each other in terms of their physique. They had what Mina had termed a"swimmer's physique": long, lean and moderately muscled. Darien wasn't going to argue if Serena was satisfied with that.

Nate Thompson poked Jay's head and Darien chuckled as Jay's head bobbled. "He's already married, dude. To a _fine_ lady, in case you didn't know." Nate nodded at Darien. "Good to see you, man." Nate, on the other hand, was a mountain of a man and the tallest of their group. They'd nicknamed as their very own linebacker and he actually had been, in college, until a knee injury ended his football career. The dark brown loose curls he'd sported as a child had long since been shorn in favor of a taper cut. A more professional look for a bank employee, Nate claimed. His brown eyes were warm and solid, just like the man.

"What's going on, guys?" Darien greeted. His gaze moved past Nate and Jay to the third and thus far silent member of the trio. Darien acknowledged Kai. "Hey, man."

Kai gave Darien a two-finger salute and his usual half-smile. Though Nate was the big guy, Kai was no little guy just the same. He was slightly leaner than Nate and shorter than Nate by an inch or two. Jay often claimed that Kai's pretty face was what distracted women from the rest of him. His flaxen blonde hair up in his customary short ponytail. The guy wasn't much of a talker but when he met Kai's cool grey-green eyes, he knew Kai had noticed something about his demeanor. They'd all met Kai in college, but once they'd met, there was no going back on that friendship.

"Darien, my man, my friend, my brother – mmph!" Jay didn't get the chance to finish his overture before Nate had had enough and put him in a one-armed headlock, covering Jay's mouth with his free hand.

"Here's the deal. It's the first playoff game tonight. We can't miss this hockey game. Mama Harris kicked us out because Casanova here brought a girl home and she wasn't Rei. Now she's mad at him and trying to prove a point. We can't watch next door because the girls have a period drama movie night going on and they refuse to let us in the house," Nate explained. He paused when Jay ceased struggling enough in his headlock to give him a funny look. "What?" Nate asked, a little self-consciously.

"Nate, how do you even know what a period drama is? That just sounds wrong, man." Jay shook his head and tsked in disappointment.

Kai spoke up from behind. "He knows because he pays attention to women. Unlike you."

Nate held out his hand for a high five that Kai returned. Darien rolled his eyes as Jay began spluttering. He knew for a fact, as they all did, that Jay was quite acquainted with the female psyche. Though females made up the minority in the Harris household, they were a quite outspoken minority. That didn't mean he got it right all the time, though.

"There's still your place, Kai and Nate. Why not watch over there?" Darien questioned.

Kai and Nate shared a townhome in downtown Colford. Kai had moved there to strike out on his own away from his wealthy family. Nate had joined Kai because he'd had a job at a bank lined up after graduation and it was an easier deal to stay with Kai than in Colford's suburbs. Their living arrangement worked because where Kai was brooding and silent, Nate was straightforward and considerate. Jay was generally only allowed over one night a week. As if that ever stopped him from showing up at will.

"One word," Jay said in mock seriousness. "Food. These punks never have anything good in their fridge."

"Because you come over and eat it all, _punk_," Nate retorted.

"I'm a growing boy!" Jay quipped.

Darien could hear footsteps coming up behind him and he turned to watch as his mother walked towards them.

"You boys," she sighed with a smile. "Come on in, I just set out some pasta. Darien, let them come inside!"

Darien sighed, as if put out and stepped aside to allow entry to the men. "Fine, if I have to."

"Yeah, Darien! Let us in." Jay stepped into the house, winking at Darien as he passed by. He removed his shoes before sweeping Luna up into a hug and steering her down the hall and into the kitchen exclaiming, "Mama Williams! It smells so good. You're marvelous and I love you. You can adopt me, too."

The three at the door watched as Jay turned on the Harris charm all the way to the kitchen, shaking their heads in wonder and/or disgust. Nate gestured behind him with his thumb indicating his car that was parked at the Harris' place. "We actually did bring food, man. We don't want to trouble you, if it's a bad time."

Kai spoke up once more. "There's still an hour before the game. We can make it back to our place."

Darien shook his head. "Mom already knows you're here. She wouldn't get rid of you now. Come on in."

"Let me just go grab the snacks we brought. I can't come in empty-handed, dude." Nate turned and jogged back to his car.

Kai stepped inside the house and clapped a hand on Darien's shoulder, focussing Darien's attention on him. "What's going on?"

This was the mysterious skill of Malakai Rasmussen. Rarely anything escaped his notice even though he rarely looked like he was paying attention. If Nate was their very own linebacker, Kai was their very own really, big ninja. Darien knew he didn't really have the right to say anything about Lita's affairs but he _could _say, "You'll find out soon enough."

Kai nodded and moved past Darien into the house. Darien waited at the door until Nate returned and they all returned to the dining room to settle in for dinner. Art and Jay were already arguing or joking or doing both about something or other. Darien smiled. It was good to be home. His smile quickly faded as he thought of Lita. Would she think the same about Colford?

* * *

They were at the second intermission of the hockey game and the game was tied at one goal. Soon after dinner, Luna had sent the guys over to the family room insisting that they keep their hockey mania to themselves.

By the intermission, Darien couldn't stand it anymore. True, he was enjoying the time with his boys. True, they hadn't gotten together in a while, due to their different schedules, and so this was a reunion of sorts. Yet, it was also true that someone he still thought of as important to him was coming home.

"I'm going to talk to the parents for a second. I'll be back before the start of the third period." Darien left the guys to themselves and headed to where he'd last seen his parents. He found them sitting in the dining room, the french doors that separated the dining room from the rest of the house closed and the phone on the table between them. He opened the door and asked, "Any news from Lita?"

"She phoned 15 minutes ago, they should be here in another twenty minutes." Luna shared, looking up at Darien standing in the doorway of the dining room.

Darien nodded and then froze as he realized what Luna had said. "Wait, who's 'they'? Is Lita coming with someone?" He jumped to the first logical conclusion. "A man?"

Luna bit her lower lip and looked at Art who shook his head and turned to Darien "Well, she's not travelling alone," Art hedged.

Darien felt something snap inside. He wasn't angry but he was frustrated with this whole situation. "Mom, Dad, you've got to give me more than that. Lita disappears for six years and you maintain contact without telling any of us. Now, out of the blue, she decides to return today and you're protecting her? I may not understand the whole situation but I can understand what you're coming from. Not everyone else will," He warned.

"Lita's coming? Today? What's going on?"

Darien spun around to face a shocked Jay who was standing in the hallway, an almost empty bowl of potato chips in his hand. Jay gaped at Darien before turning his attention to Art and Luna who were still seated at the table. "Did he just say that Lita is coming here? Today?" Jay repeated.

Darien stayed silent and watched as Kai and Nate came up behind Jay, empty glasses in their hands. He swung around to face his parents as well, letting them field Jay's questions. Art and Luna exchanged an unreadable glance before Art spoke for his wife.

"Yes. She's coming here. Luna and I never lost touch with her. I'll tell you boys right now," Art leaned forward, his sky, blue eyes growing serious. "That girl hasn't had it easy these past few years. Luna and I would appreciate it if you gave her some space when she gets here. We're not saying that you need to stay away, just -"

"Let her tell you what she will when she will," Luna finished.

Darien expected Jay to say something typically, well, Jay-ish. When he stayed quiet for longer than expected, Darien turned around only to find Jay texting someone, his fingers flying over the buttons as he balanced the chip bowl in his arms. He glanced over Jay's shoulder at Nate who rolled his eyes.

"Who are you texting, Jay?" Darien asked in a slow, deliberate manner.

Without looking up, Jay replied without hesitation, "Mina. If she had to find out from someone other than me that Lita's back in town _and_ that I knew about it first – my life would be over."

"So much for a quiet homecoming," Kai murmured.

Darien sighed and turned back to his parents. "So, what's the deal? Is she bringing herself or is there a moving truck involved?"

"She's driving a moving truck," Luna answered. " We may need your help with that, boys."

Nate gestured at all of the men present with his hand. "You've got plenty of muscle here, Luna. Just let us know what you need of us."

Luna nodded and smiled at Nate while reaching a hand out to her husband. The doorbell rang and Nate, who was furthest away offered to answer the door. Darien nodded and Nate turned down the hallway towards the front door. Everyone stayed silent, listening for whomever it might be.

"I'm not kidding. Jay _just _texted me and he found out from Art and Luna. She's coming home tonight. Rei, I already called Serena and texted Ami. Serena's coming to pick you guys up and bring you over here. What? No! I'm already here. Just get over here. Ok. Bye."

Mina swept in like a hurricane, her eyes that were so much like Jay's were glinting with a mix of several undisguised emotions. Darien wasn't sure he wanted to put a name to them if he could. Her damp, blonde hair was swept up in a messy bun and she was dressed in an old T-shirt and blindingly, bright coloured yoga pants. She'd been in such a hurry, she hadn't had time to put her contacts in and was wearing her rarely used glasses.

"You look like you just stepped out of the shower, dweeb," Jay commented lightly.

"Shut it you oaf. I did," Mina shot back. As she walked past Jay she reached up to ruffle his hair. "Thank you for filling me in, big bro."

Jay put his hands in his pockets and shrugged it off, a small, concerned smile playing on his face.

Darien's eyes immediately slid to Kai who, at first, didn't seem affected by Mina's arrival. Looking closer, Darien could see how Kai's eyes had softened several degrees, as he took in the unsuspecting female who was now coming around to hug a still seated Art and Luna from behind. She hugged Art first, but when she hugged Luna, she stayed like that with her arms wrapped around Luna's shoulders. Mina's voice was soft when she spoke to his parents but the room was so quiet everyone could hear her clearly.

"Thank you for not letting go of her. I don't care about the in-between. Well, I do, but right now, thank you. _Thank you._"

Luna lifted a hand and placed if over Mina's arms, using her other hand to wipe at her eyes. Art cleared his throat and everyone found a spot in the room to stare at silently. It suddenly hit Darien that Nate hadn't exactly returned after he let Mina in.

"Um, folks," Nate called from the hallway. "A moving truck just pulled into the driveway."

No one moved for a moment and then suddenly, there was chaos and motion everywhere. Darien pushed past Jay and almost collided with Nate in his hurry to get to the front door. He could hear Luna hurrying Art towards the door and knew Mina was probably right behind him.

"Wait for me! Ah, I'm just gonna leave these chips here, guys!" Jay called from behind them.

Darien stepped through the open door and came to a stop on the doorstep, blocking the doorway as he stared out at the truck. Art gently pulled him to the side by his elbow, letting Luna rush out the doorway and towards the truck. Art followed after her at a more sedate pace. Darien felt someone at his elbow and turned to see Mina whose attention was glued to the moving truck. Behind Mina, Jay stood with Kai and Nate, their attention also on what was unfolding on the driveway. He heard the driver's door swing open and turned his attention back to Lita's homecoming.

A sneaker attached to a long, shapely leg encased in jeans was all they could see until all of Lita exited the truck. All of the sudden it was as if five years hadn't gone by and Lita coming home was the most normal thing in the world. She looked exactly the same as she had when they'd seen her last, especially with her auburn hair up in her signature ponytail. She looked good. A little older, but good.

They watched as Luna and Art moved forward to embrace Lita, who sprang forward and clung to them with an expression of pure relief on her face. They parted and Luna took Lita's face in her hands and brushed her bangs out of her eyes before planting a soft kiss on her forehead. Lita closed her eyes and leaned forward to wrap her arms around Luna once more. They could hear Art saying, "Welcome home, Sugar."

Lita glanced their way and seemed to just realize that she had an audience standing there like gaping idiots on the doorstep of their childhood home. She gave them a stiff smile and a small wave. Lita stepped away from Luna and Art and moved towards the passenger's side. She pulled the door open and leaned inside to do...something. After a moment, she stepped back and then the surreal happened. Two little people exited the truck as Lita pulled them out of the truck and set them on the ground beside her. There was a little girl and a smaller, little boy clinging to Lita's legs, looking a little timid due to all the attention they were getting.

Lita bent over to whisper something to the children and then straightened. The children glanced over at Luna and Art and the little girl's timidity dissolved in time for something even more surreal to happen.

"Mama! Papa!" the little girl cried, running into Art's open arms. Art swung her into the air and everyone held a breath as they listened to the tinkle of her delighted laughter. "I missed you!"

Art passed her over to Luna and she clung to Luna like a spider monkey to its mother. "We're coming to live with you now."

Darien heard Mina's sharp intake of breath but couldn't turn to see if she was all right, he was so riveted by the scene in front of him. The little boy remained clinging to Lita's legs and so in order to move, Lita reached down and swung him into her arms, situating him on her hip. The movement was so fluid, so natural, so mother-like...

Lita took a hesitant step towards the group and bravely met their astonished gazes.

"Hey guys, long time no see."

* * *

**AN: **Ok, a LOT of background, I know. Too much? Too little? Are you hanging in there?

For all you Zoi fans, hang on, he won't show up until the fourth chapter. Btw, I love Darien as a pest. That always disappears the moment he falls for Serena and vice versa. I wanted to keep some of that around with Diana.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Sailor Moon. I also do not own any part of the Prada brand.

* * *

"Hey guys, long time no see."

Lita's heart was pounding in her chest. Coming back wasn't the scariest thing she'd done in her life but being under the scrutiny of people she cared for wasn't easy. Marc clung tighter to her but she was grateful for his presence. He grounded her and reminded her that she still had a reason to be Lita McKenzie to someone in this world. She looked over at Charlie, who was looking quite at home in Luna's arms. Lita held out her hand and beckoned Charlie over. "Charlie. Come here, baby."

Charlie shimmied her way down and out of Luna's grasp before trotting over to her mother. Lita, with a mother's eye, took in the state of her children's dress. For practical purposes, she'd put them in comfortable clothes for travel and all that showed were the wrinkles from sitting in the truck all afternoon. Lita mentally nodded thinking that Charlie and Marc looked good enough for introductions. Adjusting Marc on her hip, she took Charlie's hand and looked over at Art and Luna. They were standing where Charlie had left them, soft, indulgent smiles on their faces. Art nodded towards the five standing at the door. Lita took a deep breath and moved her family forward.

She stopped a few feet away from the group who were still gaping at her and refused to roll her eyes. Lita noted that Darien was standing at the forefront with Mina right behind him, both of their gazes glued to the children. Nate stood to the side and Lita started a little to find his dark gaze focussed on her. She didn't linger there, not sure if she wanted to see what she would find if she continued to meet his gaze. Jay was standing beside Nate and a little behind Mina, looking back and forth between her and the children, seeming as if he wanted to say something but couldn't settle on what to say.

There was a man she didn't know standing behind all of them and Lita observed him observing her for a moment. His grey eyes on her were intense and Lita knew instinctively that he must be an equally intense man. It almost became a small competition to see who would look away first, until Marc began squirming at her hip – unhappy with all of the attention he was getting. Mina sucked in a breath at Marc's actions, but Lita watched in interest as the man's eyes dipped down to Mina before meeting her gaze once more.

Hmm.

"Everyone, these are my children. This is my oldest Charlotte. I call her Charlie." Lita jiggled the hand the held Charlie's little hand. "Say hi, baby."

"Hi," Charlie smiled, her dimples coming out in full force as she waved shyly at the group. Lita was pretty sure someone whimpered a little. Hey, she knew her kids were cute. Lita could hear Art and Luna making their way up to the group clustered outside their doorway.

"And this little man," Lita began as Marc buried his head in her shoulder knowing that she was speaking about him. "This is Marcus. He's shy, as you can tell." Lita looked back up at them and sighed. "I understand that it's been a while and things aren't what they used to be but would you prefer to be known by your names or as aunties and uncles?"

Mina immediately dropped into a crouch in front of Charlie and held out a hand. Charlie looked up to her mother for reassurance and Lita nodded gently, letting go of Charlie's hand. Everyone watched as Charlie lightly placed her hand in Mina's hand. Mina swallowed thickly, a sheen of tears visible through her glasses.

"I'm Aunty Mina," she greeted softly, clearing her throat, though everyone could hear the emotion. "This is Uncle Darien and that is Uncle Jay and Uncle Nate and that's Kai back there." Mina introduced each one slowly and clearly, indicating who was who with her free hand. "We are _so_ happy to meet you both."

"...Or Mina could decide for all of us," Jay muttered. Lita quickly glanced over at him to see whether he'd taken offense, her heart twisting just a little. She didn't want her children paying for her mistakes. She'd had nothing to worry about though. Jay winked at her, his familiar playful grin indicating that he was merely teasing his sister.

Jay's remark officially broke the ice and Lita released the tension she didn't know she'd been holding as Darien and Nate chuckled and even Kai cracked a smile. Mina shook her head from below and looked over her shoulder to scold Jay."Oh hush!"

Darien stepped forward with a tender smile but hesitated a moment, taking in the fact that Marc was still ensconced in Lita's arms. Lita smiled a soft smile at the man that now stood before her, still as considerate and sweet as ever. "Come here," she welcomed.

He stepped forward and wrapped mother and son in a warm embrace. Lita felt something melt inside and couldn't help the tears that began welling up as she breathed him in. Darien still smelt the same. He smelt of his favourite soft, subtle cologne and fresh laundry. He leaned back and kissed her on the forehead before meeting her watery gaze. "Welcome back. Don't go anywhere too fast, ok? Serena would not be ok with that."

Lita chuckled and nodded. Darien moved by her to say hello to Charlie for himself, but soon realized that Mina wasn't ready to relinquish her new niece.

Jay stepped forward, his arms open wide and he brought them together, gently clapping his hands on Lita's shoulders. "Where you been, girl?" He lowered one hand but chucked her under her chin with the other, before leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek. He moved on to squabble with Mina about who was going to be cooler for Charlie while Darien hoisted Charlie up into his arms, quietly becoming acquainted with her. Lita didn't worry about her daughter. She took after her mother's open nature in that way.

Nate neutrally met her gaze from where he'd been standing the entire time. Feeling shy all of a sudden, she looked past him to Kai who swung his gaze back and forth between the two once. Kai cleared his throat and stepped towards Lita, his hand outstretched for her to shake. Lita took his hand firmly and he shook hers just as firmly. Now that she could get a closer look, she could see that he was handsome, from his defined cheekbones and his nicely structured face to his nice everything else. Was he dating one of the girls? She was pretty sure he was Mina's type, but a lot could change in six years.

"I'm Malakai Rasmussen and I've heard a lot about you. I guess a 'Welcome Home' is in order. You've made a lot of people happy by coming back."

Lita blinked, a little taken aback by his blunt manner of speaking and not expecting the slight rasp in the deep voice that accompanied it.

Kai, sensing the awkwardness, made to fix his blunder. "Jay often says your desserts are to die for. He exaggerates a lot, but, I suspect that he means it with you."

Lita blinked again, not expecting the compliment nor its stiff delivery. Nate snickered behind Kai and Lita felt a smile tugging at her lips despite herself.

"I think I like you, Malakai Rasmussen." She smiled wider as he inclined his head towards her and she caught the twinkle in his eyes. He nodded at her before stepping past her to add to the growing crowd around her daughter, leaving her with Nate.

"Kai's always like that. You'll get used to it." He sauntered towards her, moving in that quiet way that seemed unbefitting on such a large man. "It's been a while," Nate remarked. He reached out and held her elbows, the soft, slow smile she remembered finally showing up. "You're gorgeous, Mama."

Lita bowed her head at his words feeling extremely grateful for the warm welcome she'd received so far. "Thanks Nate."

He released her elbows and stepped around her to try to capture Marc's attention. "Hey little man? You gonna say hello today?"

Marc shook his head against Lita's shoulder and Nate chuckled, admitting defeat. "Another time, then."

Everyone turned when Luna called out, "Serena and the girls are here!"

They watched as Serena's little coupe pulled up to the curb, since there was no more room in the driveway between the moving truck and Darien's compact SUV. Lita immediately sought out Mina, who was now standing apart from the men surrounding Charlie. She met Mina's unreadable gaze and swallowed, just now realizing that Mina hadn't technically greeted her yet.

She'd always known that her biggest hurdle after returning home would be facing her girls. Lita could willingly admit that she'd been in the wrong, leaving under the cover of night without telling anyone. She'd prepared herself for a cold reception but if she was honest, she was still hoping for a bit of grace.

The car came to a stop and the occupants slowly got out. Serena and Ami exited quickly but stayed by the car to wait for Rei who took her time getting out from the back seat. As one, they turned towards the house and started up the driveway. Lita jumped when Art was suddenly in front of her reaching out to take Marc from her.

"I'll take him, thank you. You're going to need to be free for this one."

Lita nodded at him gratefully but couldn't help feeling that Marc could've acted as a buffer of sorts. She told herself to snap out of it. She was strong, she was mature, she was grown up now. Lita watched with some trepidation as Mina stepped forward and whispered something to the three women. It wasn't hard to decipher what it was as three pairs of eyes snapped up to her and then to her children being held by Darien and Art, respectively.

Somewhere in the midst of all of the tension in the air, Lita could hear Jay mumbling something and what she thought was Kai's rumbling response. She focussed in on the girls taking in Serena's heart-shaped face, the way Rei glided when she moved, the intelligent spark in Ami's eyes and Ami's waggling eyebrows. Wait, what? Lita furrowed her brow and stared at Ami but felt her heart lift when Ami winked at her from inbetween Rei and Serena. Ami had been trying to get her attention to say that everything would be all right.

"Don't think I didn't see you winking at Lita, Ami!" Mina announced, her hands going to her hips. "We were going to present a united front."

Someone, probably Jay, snorted at Mina's words.

Serena, who'd been biting her lip and had that familiar sheen in her eyes, looked at each of the girls before settling her gaze on Lita. "Oh, to _heck_ with the united front." She ran up to Lita, not giving Lita a chance to brace herself before she plowed into her. Serena wrapped her arms around Lita's ribs, because of their height difference, and promptly began to bawl. Lita had stumbled back a step due to the force of Serena's enthusiasm, but Nate put a hand to her back to steady her.

Lita slowly lifted her arms and hugged her best friend back, closing her eyes as the tears she'd been holding back began to fall.

"Serena took the words right out of my mouth."

Lita opened her eyes to find Ami joining in on their hug. She heard Ami delicately sniff a few times and she released a noisy sob herself. Lita looked over at Rei, who was discreetly wiping at her eyes while trying to remain composed. Mina, who was now standing beside Rei, sighed and rolled her eyes. She took Rei's hand and pulled her towards the group hug.

Mina looked up at Lita, her eyes shining with tears in their sincerity. "You should know I was just joking, Lita," Rei reached over and prodded Mina in the head, none too lightly. "What I really want to say is-"

Before she could finish, Rei pushed Mina towards the hug and effectively trapped her there by joining the hug herself.

"What she wants to say is, welcome home Sweetie," Rei finished for Mina.

Lita felt herself relax into their embrace knowing that at last, she was home. All of the pain of the last few years could be healed here, in time.

"Oh, oh! Did anyone film that? That was gold. Cinematic gold. I think Kai shed a tear."

"Shut up, Jay," Mina and Rei chorused, their voices mumbled due to the group hug.

"All right, everyone. Let's take this inside the house," Luna called out, attempting to corral the reunion. "Oh! I almost forgot." She glanced down at her watch on her wrist. "Is Lana's car still in your driveway, Nate? Or have the girls left for campus already?"

Lita cringed a little thinking of the explaining she would probably have to do with Dee. Make that the rest of the neighbourhood, come to think of it.

Nate turned towards his home. "Negative. They probably left while we were watching the game." He froze and slowly turned back around. Nate brought his closed fist to his mouth and lightly bit his knuckle. The girls stepped apart and looked at Nate curiously.

"The _game_!" Jay breathed, his voice ending in a squeak.

The men all looked at Lita, who shrugged back at them. "Don't look at me. I was listening to the game on the radio on the way here. At the end of the second, they were still tied at one."

They looked to Luna who rolled her eyes and waved them inside the house. "Go, just go."

"Lita, we'll have time to catch up, yeah?" Jay hinted, his hands folded in a silent plea. He was already backing into the house. Nate followed behind an apologetic look on his face. Lita sighed and shooed them into the house.

"Go! I am not and will not be hurt or annoyed. Just let me know how the game goes."

"Will do!" Jay exclaimed. He disappeared into the house, Nate not far behind.

Mina turned to Kai and raised an eyebrow. "You aren't joining them?"

Kai shrugged and responded saying,"I figured I'd let them go first. Make them look like the bad guys and then slip in after."

Lita chuckled and smiled at Art and Luna who were watching the proceedings with amusement. "I like this guy."

"Ok, everyone inside. I mean it," Luna warned as she began to shepherd everyone inside. She stopped and looked back at the moving truck. "Lita, did you want to start bringing anything inside?"

"I have overnight bags that we'll use for tonight. I'll start bringing the boxes in tomorrow. The truck isn't that big and we didn't bring much because you wouldn't let us," Lita answered, already fishing the keys out of her pocket.

"Pish posh." Art dismissed her attempt at guilting them into letting her furnish the basement. They'd argued over that point more than once. In the end, Art had shamelessly guilted Lita into, as he put it, "letting them spoil her children in ways they hadn't been able to since they were born".

She should've known not to try and mess with a master.

"Here, let me help," Darien offered. He passed Charlie over to the person closest to him, who happened to be Kai. Art and Luna headed inside with Marc, but the girls remained behind to wait for Lita. Charlie, quite unruffled, stared at Kai who stared back at her.

"Hi," she chirped.

"Hi," Kai replied, a little uncertainly.

Mina chuckled and pulled Kai inside by his well-defined bicep. "Come on, you two."

Lita watched Rei exchange a telling glance with Darien before Rei looped her arm through Ami's and pulled Ami inside the house. Lita's curiousity grew, but there would be plenty of time to figure things out later. Lita turned to Darien, who held out his hand.

"The keys, please. Don't argue. Just do."

She sighed and handed the keys over. "The bags are on the floor on the passenger's side." Darien smirked and nodded his understanding before heading back to the truck. Serena stepped closer and slipped her fingers through Lita's fingers, saying nothing at first.

"You're still going to have to spill, you know," Serena warned, the soft, content smile on her face saying all that needed to be said.

"I know." Lita squeezed her hand in confirmation.

They watched as Darien came back, loaded down with their three overnight bags. He joined them and they all made their way into the house.

Lita had made it. She was home. _They _were home.

* * *

Serena hadn't take her eyes off of Charlie and Marc all night. She'd run her eyes over them continually throughout the night looking for traces of Lita in their little faces. Once she'd gotten past Marc's green eyes and Charlie's dimples, she began looking for Lita in their personalities.

Charlie certainly had her mother's open, easy personality and her mother's outrageously, long eyelashes. She'd been passed around to almost everyone and had charmed everyone with her dimples and her intelligent conversation. Intelligent for a five year old, that was.

Marc, on the other hand, had a stubborn streak a mile-wide and Serena didn't have to wonder where she'd seen that before. All night, he'd refused to leave Art's arms until his little head was lolling with exhaustion breaking up the impromptu get-together that had formed. Charlie wasn't far behind, her large doe eyes drooping lower and lower.

The men had disappeared to finish off the third period, though Kai and Darien had taken their time in joining Nate and Jay. The women gathered with Art and the children in the kitchen where Luna immediately had tea brewing and light conversation going. When Mina teased her about effiency with tea and hosting, Luna blamed her British upbringing.

A more subdued version of Jay and Nate returned with Kai and Darien. The home team had lost in overtime. Serena couldn't really have cared less but she could tell that the loss had still gotten to Darien. She'd done the part of dutiful wife and pulled him close, giving him a sweet smooch. Nevermind the fact that she often enjoyed providing his comfort.

That had led to Jay stepping towards her, lips pursed, eyes closed and his arms outstretched. Rei intercepted him and poked him hard in the stomach causing him to double over, his arms around his stomach.

She stepped away from him amidst chuckles from the group, her nose in the air and a twinkle in her eye. Jay recovered relatively quickly and had winked at Rei slyly commenting, "Don't be jealous, baby."

Mina, in her usual blunt manner, had followed up with, "You two just need to get it together."

Before Rei could come back with a scathing reply, Ami clapped a hand over her mouth and pointedly looked at both children, though they were half-asleep. "We still have an audience."

All in all the evening went the way it usually went with the group, except for the welcome addition of Lita's little family. Everyone had left soon after the children were put to bed, since it was a Sunday night and everyone had work the next day. Serena and Darien had stayed the longest because she'd wanted to make sure that Lita and the children were settled in nicely. They'd left only after Luna teased Serena saying that her reluctance to leave could be seen as slighting Luna's hospitality. Even then, Serena had made sure to leave only after making sure that Luna understood that she wasn't, in any way, trying to insult her. Much to Art's amusement, of course.

Now, she was thinking back on the evening while pulling on her pajamas. She turned towards the bed and looked at her husband who was looking comfortable in bed and already breathing deeply. Serena climbed into bed and leaned over Darien wanting to talk but understanding that he must've had an exhausting day.

"Darien?"

"Hmm?"

His reply was sleepy and delayed and Serena chose to leave him alone for tonight. She kissed his bare shoulder and whispered, "Good night."

She settled into her favourite position, her back towards Darien as she faced the her edge of the bed. She soon found that sleep wasn't coming. Serena thought of Lita's homecoming and of the shock she'd felt when she learned that Lita had children. Not only one but _two _children. If she did the math, it wasn't hard to see that Lita could've been pregnant when she'd left. Or maybe she'd gotten pregnant soon after?

Serena was itching to know what Lita's story was but she respected her space and trust enough to wait for her to open up. The Lita she used to know hadn't been one to keep secrets for too long but six years was a long time. A lot of things could change in that time.

Serena was proud of the way everyone had handled Lita's arrival. There was still an obviously, massively, obese elephant in the room but they'd still managed to make Lita feel comfortable. Serena was sure of it. Lita would need that support. Not everyone would be so receptive to the return of the prodigal daughter, so to speak.

Her thoughts turned inward and she subconsciously held a hand to her stomach. Lita's new status as a mother didn't provide pressure, but it did bring her own struggles closer to the surface. There was no doubt she wanted to become a mother. Getting married and having a child had always been a dream of hers, but at the same time, she wondered if that was all she was to be. A mother and a wife and nothing else?

Was there anything she could do that would set Serena Shields apart as an accomplished woman in her own right? She wanted to see if there was something of substance within herself, for herself. Sure, she knew she was loved but there was a difference between being loved and being appreciated for your accomplishments. Serena chewed her lower lip and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep. She needed to put these thoughts away and get some sleep.

* * *

Mina checked her makeup in her rearview mirror and puckered her lips. Perfect. She ran her fingers through her hair, adding last minute volume. Mina nodded her head, glad that she'd gone with leaving her hair down and barely-there makeup. Her intended target seemed the type to know his way around women, so she had to play it right.

Mina had chosen to go with a floral patterned half-sleeve blouse, a peach-coloured pencil skirt and completed the look with a wide black belt and neutral toned bangles. She'd opted against heels, choosing a pair of beige lacy flats to bring her look together and play it as natural as possible.

She'd first seen him at a cafe at the edge of town a month before. Mina had only gone in because heading to Art and Luna's cafe would be going out of her way. She'd been in this part of town to pick up a package her mom had sent her over for. Mina hadn't minded, though, because a high school friend worked at the cafe and she was sure Carrie wouldn't mind having her visit.

Mina had been coming in and he'd been leaving, dressed immaculately in an Armani suit. Truthfully, she'd noticed his suit first and that had been the problem. She'd been so busy making sure that it really was what she thought it was – because, really, who wore Armani in Colford? - that she'd walked right into him. Mina had stumbled backwards and would've made a painful landing if his immediate reaction hadn't been to steady her by grabbing her about her waist.

_-Flashback-_

_Any apology she tried to make never made it out because she began gaping like an idiot the moment she had a glimpse of his face. The symmetry! The high cheekbones, coupled with a strong jaw and an aquiline nose! His sensual mouth! Eventually, she realized that said mouth had one corner quirked up in a very male, very knowing smirk. Her eyes jumped up to his twinkling grey eyes and she just knew she'd made an absolute fool of herself. Her eye for beauty could be a curse sometimes._

_"Oh, I'm sorry! Thank you for saving - well, I'm sure you know that I wasn't staring at your body! I was staring at your suit." Before she could stop herself her hand went out to finger his sleeve. "It's really Armani, isn't it?" Too late, had her filter and common sense returned to her. She pressed a hand to her mouth and took a step back and away from him, refusing to meet his gaze. Mina stared at his dress shoes, willing herself not to notice that they were Prada and went perfectly with his shirt, tie and cufflinks. Yes. His cufflinks!_

_"While I can't say that I regret having you fall across my path today, I do regret that I must be on my way. Busy day ahead and all that!"_

_He had a British accent. He was British! Granted, it was faded, which was most likely due to a long stay in a country he hadn't been born in. Yet, Mina found herself captivated by the combination of his smooth tenor and crisp diction. Momentarily lost in her thoughts about him, she was startled out of them when he leaned forward into her personal space and began peering at her._

_"You are all right, aren't you? I apologize for walking into you, I can be absent-minded at times."_

_She raised her startled eyes to his and shook her head emphatically to say no. As she did so, she noted how his eyes watched her with an interest and a cool she hadn't seen many men approach her with. That alone was enough to intrigue her. Sure, men approached her with an interested bravado or a stumbling shyness but that wasn't quite the same as what she had right in front of her at the moment. _

_"Marvelous. I honestly don't mean to misplace my manners at a time like this but I really must get going. If I should be fortunate enough to cross paths with you again, I will owe you a coffee." He graciously offered._

_Mina smiled shyly but replied cheekily, "And evidently, another look at your suit and shoes."_

_He looked at her for a moment, lips quirking, before he threw his head back and laughed. It was a completely delightful laugh, really. Captivating, if she was honest, she thought as she watched the fluffy volume of his golden blonde hair. It was perfectly coiffed. Whoo boy._

_"Well, a deal is a deal," he agreed once he had recovered. He held out his hand for Mina to shake and with those last words, he was out the door. A whiff of some spicy cologne lingered in the air and Mina admitted she might've sniffed the air once or twice._

_"Hon, did you get a name to go with that?"_

_Mina turned only to find her high school friend, Carrie, waving in the direction of the closing door. She shook her head in the negative._

_"I am happily married, but I will not deny that he is always a treat to see," Carrie sighed._

_"Does he come in often?" Mina fished shamelessly._

_Carrie turned to her, a knowing grin on her face. "Quite regularly. He comes in every Monday and Thursday."_

_It was Mina's turn to give Carrie a knowing grin, but she upgraded the look with a raised eyebrow. Carrie shrugged and turned back to get behind the counter before her supervisor had something to say about her little visit with Mina._

_"Hey! I can't help overhearing what the other girls notice!" Carrie whined._

_Mina chuckled and followed Carrie to the counter to give her order._

_-Flashback-_

Anyway, long story short, Mina was back on the last Monday of the month – a month later. She'd been busy but she hadn't gotten him out of her mind. Mina figured it didn't hurt to try meeting him accidentally...on purpose.

She got out of the car and took a deep breath, squinting at the bright sunlight on what had turned out to be a gorgeous spring morning. Mina made her way into the cafe and tried to look around the dimmed interior as her eyes adjusted. She couldn't see his golden head anywhere. There were booths towards the back but Mina wasn't eager enough to stalk him back there. She made her way to the counter and winked at Carrie who was currently serving another customer.

Mina took a seat at the counter on a swivel bar stool and waited for Carrie to finish. Before Carrie was done gathering the other customer's order, she grabbed something from the till area and walked over to where Mina sat. She placed several napkins in front of Mina, all of which had writing on them. She looked up at Carrie, a puzzled frown on her face.

"Read them," Carrie instructed before walking back to the other customer.

Mina laid them out and realized that there were short sentences on each one, accompanied by a different date. There were eight in total, eight for every day he'd been in since she'd seen him last. She put them in order before trying to make sense of the messages.

_"I came back to treat you but you weren't here today. Too bad."_

_"I suppose I need to know what your favourite hot drink is, right?"_

_"I come in every Monday and Thursday."_

_"I waited, hoping I'd catch you. I didn't."_

_"Were you real? Did I make you up?"_

_"Ignore the last note. I was getting desperate."_

Mina chuckled at that one.

_"I would like to know more about you, other than that you're absolutely gorgeous and smell divine."_

_"I would like to tell you my name, at least. Give me that!"_

She couldn't help but feel a teensy bit enchanted by these attempts to get her to see him again. So far, all she knew about him was that he was British, had amazing fashion sense, was gorgeous and quirky enough to leave notes for her on napkins. Before she could piece anymore thoughts on him together, Carrie returned with another napkin in her hand and placed it in front of Mina.

"He left this behind today. You actually missed him by a half hour. He seemed in a hurry today. He usually waits to see if you'll come in. Lucky girl," Carrie drawled, winking at Mina. "What will you have, Mina?"

"Something incredibly sugary, french vanilla flavoured and topped off with lots of whipped topping. I made the effort to look good today and failed so I'm going to treat myself." Mina smiled ruefully. "A friend of mine is trying to switch me over to tea and it works most days – but today will not be one of them."

Carrie snorted as she turned to get Mina her drink after Mina paid for it. "I hear ya, hon."

Mina turned the latest napkin-note over and stared at the sentence written on it. A slow smile spread across her face.

_"I want to see you again. May I?"_

She'd definitely be back next Thursday.

* * *

Malakai Rasmussen stared at the empty plate in front of him not quite sure when he'd scarfed the contents of the plate down. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and rolled his shoulders. Oh well. Breakfast at this cafe was pretty decent at least. His schedule was pretty clear until the evening so he had decided to take his time with breakfast after the meeting he'd just had.

He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. It was lukewarm and that made it disagreeable. Kai leaned out of the booth he was occupying to see if he could catch one of the waitresses passing by. His booth was at the back of the restaurant, far from prying eyes, but the waitresses circulated regularly. Ah! There was one. The one that was always on shift everytime he came by. What was her name? Carrie!

He raised his hand and waved at her to catch her eye. From where she was standing, helping another customer, she acknowledged his wave with a small nod and a smile. Satisfied, Kai sat back in the booth seat and leaned his head back and ran his hands down his face.

His family was crazy. He'd known that fact for a long time. Kai didn't have issues with it. Not when it was the truth. His father, Peter Rasmussen, was a prominent businessman who owned several businesses across the country. Kai's mother was an actress. Granted, Felicia Candace was well past her golden years of popularity but she was still respected enough. They were still married but lived on opposite sides of the country.

Any growing up he'd done had happened away from either of his parents in boarding schools and summer camps. That is, until his half-brother came into the picture. Alexander Rasmussen was his father's firstborn son, from his first marriage, that had ended in a bitter divorce, and his heir apparent. Kai had never had a problem with his situation. Growing up, he'd understood that others either envied or pitied him depending on how much or how little they knew about his personal situation. He'd never seen reason to get involved in anything that didn't concern him and lived keeping a distance from everything and everyone.

That is, until Ace crashed into his world when he'd been the tender age of twelve. Up until then, Ace had been living with their paternal grandfather, Kai's namesake and mentor. He'd been undergoing the necessary grooming to take over for their father. For some reason, the adults had suddenly thought it brilliant to stick the boys together every summer and winter holidays to foster some kind of bond.

All that their plan accomplished was Ace's need to turn everything Kai was involved in into a competition. He enjoyed playing with Kai and often used childish games in an attempt to push him to the brink just to see what Kai would do. It usually never worked because Kai didn't attach himself to too many things. He already knew that was pointless. Still, Kai couldn't tell if Ace's actions stemmed from love or whether he was the outlet Ace needed to release the stress he accumulated from family pressures.

Kai honestly didn't know what he felt about his brother. They'd never had to share anything besides their father and even then, Kai wasn't sure he cared enough about his father to claim 'daddy-issues'. Kai shook his head and finished off the rest of his coffee in order to return to the present.

He'd moved to Colford precisely because it was a small town. Colford had nothing that any of his family members was interested in and he'd made it his haven. Kai had forgotten that anything he was involved in was something that Ace was interested in. He'd had a couple years of peace until his brother contacted him and begun checking up on him from a distance. Then, a year ago, Ace had begun checking up on him personally. Ace had used the excuse that one of the businesses that Ace ran was technically his as well and thus Kai's input was needed. He had a point. Kai owned 37% of the small marketing business, thanks to his father.

That didn't mean that he wanted to get involved. Kai was quite happy living out his dream. He was a small-time composer and worked composing music for commercials, local community theatre projects and - when he was lucky – small, unknown independent films. Yet, as things often went with Ace, when he pulled you in, you inevitably went in head over heels.

Kai was now making executive decisions for the company along with his brother. That was what the meeting had been about today. They'd stayed focused and tried to find ways to keep a major client that they stood to lose to another marketing company, until Ace lost interest and began scribbling on a napkin. Kai sighed and rolled his eyes. He started when he realized that Carrie was standing beside him and probably had been for a while, judging by the look on her face.

"Where were you? On Venus?" she teased.

Kai smirked at being caught with his head in the clouds. "Probably."

"You wanted a refill for your coffee, right? Here you go, hon." She took his old cup and replaced it with a steaming cup of fresh coffee. Kai smiled gratefully up at her. "I don't know how you can drink your coffee black. I need at least a pound of cream and sugar each in my coffee to get going everyday!" Carrie exclaimed.

"I don't drink it black, Carrie," he corrected. Kai held up a single packet of sweetener and proceeded to tear it open and pour it into the mug, stirring slowly before taking a sip. "I like it sweet."

Carrie giggled and rolled her eyes. "You're funny. Oh! The gentleman you were with paid for both of you when he left."

"Hmm," Kai hummed. "Thank you. I'll make sure to enjoy this coffee then."

"You do that, hon."

Carrie left him to his coffee and thoughts once more. In all honesty, his brother annoyed him but Kai didn't hate him, per se. Maybe. One thing was for sure. Ace was up to something. The man rarely did something without having an ulterior motive in mind.

The question was, could Kai figure it out before Ace carried out whatever he had planned?

* * *

**AN: **Updated May 8th, 2012

I couldn't leave it as it was. Kai's part bugged me because it wasn't consistent with how I want to write Kai. I totally copped out on it last time and decided to be lazy. So, this is his new and improved version. Thanks for your patience.


	4. Chapter 4

***** Changes have been made to the last chapter. See AN below for details! *****

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Sailor Moon. I do not own any part of the Audi or Star Wars brands, either.

* * *

Zachary Lawrence was _not_ enjoying his first visit to Colford. The town was too small, he couldn't find the street he needed to find, his phone was dead and he was late. He might've been in a better mood if he hadn't been pulled over for his excessive speeding, but he doubted it.

Yes. He was well aware that he _had _deserved the ticket. The whole process had taken twenty minutes but it was twenty minutes he couldn't afford to waste. He had an appointment with someone very important to him and making her wait simply wasn't an option.

He spotted a gas station and pulled into the lot. Zach parked in the closest available stall and turned off the ignition and took a deep breath. He reached for the door handle but before he could some juvenile delinquent plastered himself against his window.

"Oh maaaaaan! Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me? Th-this is an Audi R8. This is my dream car. The only way I'd ever get near one of these is-"

"You probably wouldn't. Not while working here," Zach finished for the kid, lowering his window to speak to him from inside the car. No sense in giving a kid false hope. He might've even just inspired the kid to stay in school and...enter an economy where a degree landed you a job at a fast food restaurant.

The gas attendant – Zach looked at the name tag on his uniform, it read, 'Sammy' – sheepishly stepped away from Zach's car and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Zach may or may not have felt a little guilty at the crestfallen expression on the kid's face. He opened his car door and got out. He took a moment to stretch out the kinks in his legs from the hours of travel and observe the kid standing in front of him. The kid had to be about seven years younger than Zach, putting him at about eighteen or nineteen years of age. His shaggy dirty blonde hair hung over his eyes and when paired with his lanky, thin form – 'Sammy' resembled an over-sized puppy. A puppy whose dreams he'd just crushed. Maybe.

"It's Sammy, right?" Zach gestured to the worn name tag on the kid's uniform. Sammy nodded, eyes still glued to the car over Zach's shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, this was a gift from my grandmother. Having rich relatives helps."

Sammy narrowed his eyes and stared at Zach for a moment then nodded. "Man, I'm about your car. Who you got it from doesn't matter." Sammy sighed and pointed at an old beater parked at the far end of the lot. "At least you're not driving your sister's old hand-me-down car."

Zach shook his head sympathetically. "I hear you man, at least it still looks functional." He turned to look at his car and felt those tender feelings that always came when he looked at his car. They stood in a companionable silence staring at his car.

Sammy cleared his throat and turned to Zach. "Man, you need me to do something? My boss is in today and I need to be productive."

Zach nodded in understanding.

"I'm new to town and I need to know how to get to this address."

He held out the sheet of paper he'd scribbled directions on at the beginning of this journey and Sammy took it. Zach watched as Sammy's face lit up with recognition and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"This place isn't that far from here, it's hard to miss. The directions you were given are wrong. You're supposed to turn right here, not left. That 'r' is actually an 'n'. Who wrote this? It's chicken scratch!"

It was Zach's turn to be sheepish. "Mine." He took the sheet of paper that Sammy was handing back to him, purposely ignoring the cheeky grin on Sammy's face. "Professors don't need to write like kindergarten teachers. It's our prerogative," Zach defended.

Sammy's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. "For real? _You're_ a professor?"

Zach shrugged knowing he didn't fit the profile of a stereotypical professor. In more ways than one.

"I can't help what I am."

Sammy nodded and then took one last long look at Zach's car. "I bet you always get pulled over in that car."

Zach snorted and shook his head. "I did get pulled over. Just outside of town."

Sammy swung his head towards Zach and clapped a hand on Zach's shoulder in sympathy. "Did you deserve it?"

Zach cracked a guilty smile. "Yes."

Sammy let out a bark of laughter and saluted Zach. "You're funny, man. Take it easy. Hope I see your car again soon."

Zach nodded at Sammy.

"Thanks, man."

Zach got into his car and found himself slightly re-thinking his initial evaluation of Colford. Still, he could debate about where he stood on that issue later. He had a woman waiting for him and Zachary Lawrence was never one to disappoint ladies.

* * *

Ami rubbed her neck and looked at the clock overhead. She'd been up since four this morning because she hadn't had a good night's rest last night. Ami had been mulling over too many things to sleep.

"Sweetie, you look tired."

Ami smiled and looked over at her mother, Linda Anderson, sitting across the table. She took in the way the lighting in the small italian restaurant cast shadows and lit up different aspects of her mother's face. She nodded and covered her mouth as a giant yawn escaped.

"I am. I was up at four and couldn't fall asleep again. Registration for the new year is starting in a few weeks for Little Stars and there were quite a few parents who chose to pre-register their kids. The office at the preschool will be busy for a while."

Linda made a sympathetic noise and patted Ami's hand. Ami had been working as an office assistant at Little Stars Preschool ever since she'd graduated from high school. She'd had the chance and through her large scholarships, had the means to receive post-secondary education. Ami hadn't been sure about her path and because of that, she'd made the choice to wait. In fact, she _still_ felt like she wasn't any closer to knowing where she needed to be in this life.

"Have you talked to Lita about registering Charlie?" Linda inquired.

Ami shook her head with a soft smile. Lita's return had shocked quite a few people but her children were making up for any lost time by charming _everyone _that they met. Karen Harris and her own mother had been quite taken by the two munchkins.

"She'll be old enough to start kindergarten this year. Lita would probably be looking to register Marc. He's just such a shy thing, I don't know if he'll want to start preschool just yet."

It had only been a few days since Lita had come home and as far as Ami knew, the family was still settling in and trying to find their stride. She figured the girls would get together to catch up some time soon. It was just that so much was happening lately, especially with the anniversary party happening this weekend. Ami looked up when Linda took a look at her watch and clucked her tongue.

"He's not usually – well, no, he does tend to move at his own pace. Where is he?" Linda sent her daughter an apologetic glance. "I just want you to meet him so much!"

Ami smiled but didn't reply. She wasn't sure how to reply, so she resorted to changing the subject.

"You look lovely, Mom."

It was true tonight and had been true for several months now. Ami had never once asked what the reason for her mother's recent makeover. She wasn't quite sure that she wanted to know, some days. Of course, she'd suspected that her mother had found someone and for the most part Ami was thrilled for her. After all she'd been through to keep their little family going after her father's sudden choice to leave and never return, she deserved happiness with the right man.

Ami was the spitting image of her father, Marcel Bernard. At least, that was what her mother always told her. He'd left when she was four and so there were faint images and memories in her head but nothing concrete besides the pictures her mother had kept. Marcel was an artist and a wandering soul and her mother simply wasn't. They'd had a happy time together up until they reached a mutual decision to separate for their own good as individuals and for Ami's own good.

Linda ended up carrying the weight of their little family on a nurse's salary for the next twenty years. She'd refused Marcel's help throughout the years, though he'd certainly offered it. The only gifts she'd allowed had been the birthday and holiday presents he'd sent for Ami from whereever he had been residing at the time.

Linda had been sure to further her education and her career and now taught as a professor at Colford Community College. She'd been sure to make sure that Ami wanted for nothing and Ami could admit she hadn't really felt the absence of her father. Not especially with the families and friends and abundance of love she'd grown up surrounded by. Growing up on the same street as Serena's family had that effect on a fatherless girl.

Now, it appeared that her mother had moved on from her father in that last way. Linda had found someone she wanted to spend more and more of her time with. It wasn't just the two of them anymore. Their family was expanding and Ami was finding she was having more trouble with the thought of it than she figured that she would.

Truth be told, Ami's mixed feelings probably stemmed from the fact that her mother hadn't said anything about anything to Ami before tonight. Sure, Linda was allowed to have a life separate from Ami but there generally wasn't much that went unsaid between this mother and daughter. She hadn't expected her mother to invite her to meet 'him' the minute she'd gotten home from work.

"Oh? Thank you, sweetie." Linda paused and stared down at her hands in her lap. "I know you're here on such short notice and I really appreciate it. This is someone I'd really love for you to meet. I know you're an intelligent young woman and that you've probably noticed a change in my behaviour lately."

Ami felt a nervous anticipation build up in her stomach. She wanted to hear this and didn't, all at the same time.

"I suppose I didn't tell you earlier because, well, I couldn't," Linda continued. "I was -"

Ami shot out of her chair, almost without realizing that she'd done so. Her mother was looking up at her in surprise and all Ami could think of was making a quick escape to the bathroom.

"I'll be back."

Ami didn't miss the mix of disappointment and understanding on her mother's face. Nor did she miss how her mother tried to hide it.

"All right, then."

Ami hurried in the direction of the restrooms, gave the elderly lady exiting the restroom a polite smile and quickly shut herself inside of a stall. She took one deep breath, and then two more. Honestly, she couldn't figure out why this weirded her out. Ami was a level-headed woman and she was only ever flustered by unnecessary excessive male attention; which she rarely received, if ever.

She wrung her hands together and looked up at the restroom ceiling. The décor was quite tasteful and very Mediterranean. No! Ami would focus on the problem at hand and not escape by distracting herself. She owed her mother and her mother's...boyfriend that much, at least.

Ami made sure to flush just in case there was someone else in the rest room with her, unlocked the door and stepped out of the stall. She stood in front of the sink and washed her hands out of habit, staring at herself the whole while.

It was time to face the music.

She gathered her courage and left her temporary haven, to make her way back to their table. Ami turned the corner in time to see the back of some blonde man kissing her mother on her cheek, before stepping into her mother's embrace. She resisted the urge to just head back to the restroom and stay there. Steeling herself for whatever was coming her way, Ami moved forward. When she neared the table, her mother caught sight of her and Ami's heart sank when Linda's face lit up at her return. The man turned to see what had gotten Linda so excited. Ami felt something shake her from her core when she took in his intrigued, green-eyed gaze and lazy smile.

He was young. Really young. _Really, really young. _He had to be no more than two or three years older than Ami. Making him young enough to be her mother's son.

Was her mother a – a _cougar?_

"Ami, sweetie, this," Linda paused as she gestured towards the young man. "This is Zachary Lawrence, he's – oh, are you feeling well? You've gone quite pale. Oh, Ami!"

Zachary had stepped forward to shake her hand and Ami had meant to do the same. Instead, she'd ended up stumbling and falling into his arms and followed that up by promptly passing out.

So much for first impressions.

* * *

Jaden Harris was ready for a new job.

He'd begun working at the warehouse four years before, after gallivanting across Europe for a year with his siblings, Mina and they'd come back from their adventures, the economy had tanked and finding a job again hadn't been as easy as he'd initially thought it would be. There was no way he was going back to the job he'd had previously and so he'd asked a buddy of his to hook him up at the warehouse. He was grateful for the work but management was driving him crazy.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into his house, grocery bags in hand. No matter how much he complained, Jaden appreciated the general chaos of the Harris household. He had four younger siblings, all of whom lived in the same house. He was the oldest, at twenty-eight, followed by Chris at twenty-six. Mina was turning twenty-four later in the year and Melanie just turned twenty.

"Jay! Mom says she's still not talking to you but she wants to know what you want to eat for dinner."

That was Robert Harris Jr, otherwise known as Robbie, the youngest and the most unexpected member of the Harris family. He was currently eleven years old. If Chris and Mel were the quieter, more well-behaved versions of Jay and Mina, then Robbie was the perfect child. A bit of a space cadet, but a good egg. He would be, having been raised by two parents and four older siblings.

Yeah.

"Squirt, I'm not having dinner at home tonight. Tell my mother that I picked up some groceries, including her mangoes."

Jay smiled and shook his head as he listened to the murmuring coming from the kitchen. He removed his shoes and headed towards the kitchen. All murmuring came to a stop when he stepped inside. Robbie stared at Jay with wide eyes and he let a nervous giggle loose. "I told Mom what you said, Jay. I'm going to go read a book."

Jay set the bags down on the counter near the fridge and winked at Robbie. "You mean play that game Dad just bought you."

"Same difference!"

Karen put both hands on her hips and stared Robbie down. "Your homework had better be done by now, young man. You've had plenty of time to do it."

Robbie shrugged at their mother. "I did it when I came home, Mom. I can show you!"

Jay put a hand to his heart and looked at his mother.

"You really did save the best for last. We never did our homework until you had to work some tough love."

Karen cracked a smile and shook her head.

"All right, go. I want you reading a little bit of something before bed, though!"

Robbie nodded before taking off down the hallway leaving Karen Harris to watch her son silently as Jay began putting away the groceries.

"Did you have a bad day, Jay? You look tense."

Jay finished putting away the last item, rolled his shoulders and put on his best puppy face.

"Nothing a mother's love can't heal," he teased, moving over to his mother to give her a hug. Karen pouted as she hugged him back.

"What now, Mom?"

"I know you're not happy at the warehouse. Why don't you work with your father? You know he'd love to have you and you're already so good with cars."

Jay sighed heavily. He knew what was coming. It was the standard guilt-trip that he would receive until he fell in line. His father, Robert Harris, owned and ran a successful garage at the edge of town. He'd done well enough for himself and his family and that had allowed his mother to stay a housewife while they all did their growing up. Sometimes, she stepped in and helped out at the office when needed.

It was expected that Jay would inherit the business and continue the legacy. Jay had his reasons for not falling in line. He wanted to become something..._more _than just a "small-town mechanic".

"Plus, I don't think that Celina girl is helping you relax either. When you're with the one you love, you relax. You may get angry at times but you feel most at peace with that person."

"Ma..." Jay warned. "I really did have a rough day. I don't need this."

"I'm just trying to help you, son. I love you."

Jay groaned and lowered his head down to his mother's shoulder for a moment. He straightened and looked her in the eye. "I'm looking at becoming a fireman, maybe, I don't know. I just – I don't want to take over for dad, just yet. Rei is another story. Anyway, I'm heading over to Grandpa Ishikawa's to fix something he called me over to fix. Then I'm going out with Celina after, so don't worry about me tonight. Where _is _Dad?"

Karen caressed the side of Jay's face. Jay kissed her cheek in response.

"He's out with some friends. Someone bought new golf clubs or a fishing pole. One or the other."

Jay snickered at her answer. "Ok, I'm just going to go freshen up. Your mangoes are over there on the counter. They still need time to ripen."

He stepped away from his mother and turned to head down the hallway to the basement door and down into the domain he shared with Chris. He checked Chris' room but he wasn't home he showered and changed into something decent looking, he thought of how often he still went to the Ishikawa home; despite his having broken up with Rei last year.

Jay thought about it while he drove over to their home. He knew that Grandpa generally called him over just to hang out, over the excuse that something needed fixing. Sometimes things actually did need fixing and other times, they were things that hadn't needed fixing until they'd been purposely tampered with. He knew that Grandpa had joined forces with his mother and that they both 'hoped' that he'd get back with Rei. 'Hoped' as in nagged, bothered and cajoled. They couldn't understand that where he was willing, Rei wasn't. So he had to move on and he was trying to do so with Celina.

He pulled into the Ishikawas' long driveway and drove up to the house. Grandpa Ishikawa lived just outside of town, close to farmland but his seven acres weren't used for commercial farming. He grew his own vegetables and basically lived off of his own land. Jay thought it was the coolest thing ever. He didn't know if he could do it but he respected the man.

Grandpa was born James Makaio Ishikawa and he hailed from an island in the South Pacific. He was half-Japanese. He'd come to Colford over sixty years ago with his father and together they'd struggled to make a living and settle into a land they weren't native to. Along the road of life, he met Agnes Palmer and fell in love. Together they bought the land he currently lived on, dreaming of growing the Ishikawa family. Eventually, they had a daughter – Kalina Ishikawa.

She grew up and met an ambitious young man by the name of Roger Hino. They fell in love and badda bing-badda boom, Rei was born and they were married. Happily ever after never arrived, unfortunately. Kalina, who'd always had poor health, grew even more fragile after having Rei. Roger grew more and more ambitious and achieved the power he'd wanted through politics. He moved on to bigger and better things and figured that leaving his sickly wife and daughter behind was a better option than dragging them across the country for his new career.

Kalina ended up moving back in with her parents, heartbroken. She didn't last very long and passed soon after. Agnes never quite got over the treatment and death of her daughter and slowly wasted away in front of her husband and granddaughter. She passed a year after her daughter's passing. Grandpa ended up raising Rei on his own. Since then, he'd been her world and she was his. Jay had seen the strength of their bond more than once over the years, but he'd felt it most when he'd dated Rei.

Jay got out of his car and made his way up to the front door. He pressed the doorbell but there was no answer. Jay checked the driveway. Chad's truck was there but Rei's car wasn't. Someone had to be home – wasn't that why Grandpa called him over?

He raised his hand to press the doorbell once more when the door slowly opened and Chad's face peeked outside. Jay used his raised hand to wave instead, a puzzled look on his face. Chad Tucker was a long-term tenant in the basement of Grandpa's home. Seven years ago, he'd been a runaway with no place to go until Grandpa took him in; whether Rei had liked it or not, Jay thought with a smile. Naturally, he'd become family along the way.

"Hey, what's going on, man?"

Chad pressed a finger to his mouth to shush Jay. He stepped outside as quietly as possible and shut the door behind him.

"He's outside in the back. Grandpa's been using me as a soundboard _for two weeks_! He's been cracking wedding joke after wedding joke figuring out what he's going to say at the anniversary. I'm joked out, man. I can't take it! He just started asking me which fake cry he should go with at the end of his speech. The 'Lonely Old Man' cry or the 'Proud Daddy'. Where does he get this stuff?"

Jay snickered and reached out to pat Chad's back. "I'll take over for a bit. Oh! Did Kai get a hold of you? He wanted the band to practice tomorrow, or something. I think he said something about Serena and Dee wanting to change the 'First Dance' song, or something."

Chad scratched his head, looking confused. All of a sudden a look of understanding dawned on his face and he snapped his fingers at Jay. "You know what? I lost my phone."

A silence ensued where Jay looked at Chad expecting an explanation and Chad looked at Jay as if he'd already answered every question Jay could think to ask. It took a moment but Jay finally gave up and shook his head. Beneath the shaggy, 80's rocker hair and the ripped jeans and matching jean jackets was a really, cool dude. Sure, he probably hailed from some other planet, but Chad was real cool.

"You know what, Chad?" Jay baited.

"What?"

"You're a real space cadet, man."

Chad smiled and nodded.

"And proud of it, man."

"Chad? I've got a new fake cry! It's called the 'Voice of Experience'! Chad?"

Both men froze at the sound of Grandpa's voice and Chad looked at Jay like a deer caught in headlights.

"Go," Jay prompted. "I'll take it from here."

The look Chad gave Jay was so full of gratitude, Jay cracked up. That was what alerted Grandpa to their whereabouts and the front door swung open.

"Perfect! Jay, you can tell me what you think about my fake cry. Chad! Chad! Where are you going?"

All they were left with was the dust from behind Chad's truck as he booked it down the driveway and out onto the main road. Grandpa mumbled something about ungrateful kids under his breath.

"What was that, Gramps?" Jay teased.

Grandpa turned to him and clasped his hands behind his back. He was dressed in an old t-shirt and surfing shorts, looking quite comfortable in his own skin.

"You look like what Yoda would look like if he surfed, Gramps. Where did you get those shorts?"

Grandpa fingered the frayed hem of his shorts.

"Rei never lets me wear these. She says I need to throw them away. I had many a good adventure in these shorts, young man."

Jay nodded. "I'm sure you did. Anyway, what did you need me to come over for?"

"I need you to help me start set-up for this weekend. I've been doing it bit by bit, when Rei isn't home. I can't ask Chad because he'd just tell Rei what I'm doing." Grandpa sniffed and pretended to look affronted.

Jay crossed his arms over his chest and gave Grandpa a serious look. "Not cool. We know that you're still the man, but your body doesn't always. You collapsed because of over-exhaustion. If Rei's being picky it's because you're all she has."

Grandpa gave him a sidelong glance and a devious gleam entered his eyes.

"I don't have to be all that she has."

Jay groaned. "Not you too."

"What do you mean, 'not you too'?"

"Mom was starting in on me at home. I don't need it Gramps." Grandpa studied Jay for a moment before clearing his throat and turning back towards the house.

"Well, let's get some things done in the back. I know you boys will be over to get everything ready for the wedding. I just want to do a few things to that it'll be easier for you later."

'A few things' turned into an hour of hauling things to and from the pergola in the backyard, where the ceremony would take place. They were so concentrated on what they were doing that they didn't notice Rei's arrival until she spoke up from the back deck.

"I'm home! Hey Jay. I saw your car out front. Come inside, you two. It's getting dark." Jay looked over at Grandpa who shrugged.

"You heard the lady."

They put away the last few items and followed Rei into the house and into the kitchen where she was laying out some chinese takeout.

"I got your favourite, Grandpa. Jay, do you want to join us? I brought plenty, in case Chad was home."

Jay glanced at his watch and looked back up at Rei's face. The expression she was wearing wasn't easy to decipher, so he didn't try. He didn't want to linger.

"I've got a date tonight."

Jay watched Rei's eyebrows rise slowly and tried to ignore they way Grandpa began clearing his throat repeatedly as he shuffled about the kitchen, filling his plate.

"With Celina, right? Mina told me she's coming this weekend. With you."

Jay nodded in affirmation. Rei smiled at Jay. "I'm glad for you. Let me see you out then. You don't want to keep her waiting."

Jay held up his hand in goodbye and Grandpa waved him off. He turned to follow Rei out of the kitchen and down the hall. Jay ran his gaze over Rei, memorizing things he already knew. The way her hair swished from side to side when she walked. The graceful way she moved and did anything, really. The way she looked so soft and comfortable wearing her old highschool sweatpants and an old sweater. The way a bit of him would rather be having dinner here tonight.

She must've been home long enough to change into something comfortable. There was no way she would go out wearing that outfit.

"How've you been?"

"Tired of the warehouse. Same old, same old."

Jay stepped outside after she opened the door and turned to look at her. Her dark, almond shaped eyes were gazing at him with a friendly warmth he'd gotten used to but didn't prefer. Stray hairs were poking out of her ponytail and she looked tired but content. He wanted to know how her day went, that wasn't prying. Was it?

"Did you have a writing class?"

He watched as she squirmed and looked away for a moment before meeting his gaze.

"Yes."

That was obviously a lie but it wasn't his place to ask anymore from her. Jay tried again with a different subject. "So, I'll see you on Thursday when everyone gets together, right?"

"It's pretty much the only rehearsal we'll have before Sunday." Rei paused and looked at Jay. "Lita will be cooking and everyone should be here for six."

Jay saluted her as he walked backwards down the front steps. "Yes, ma'am. Is she making my brownies? Get her to make my favourite brownies."

Rei chuckled and followed him down one step in order to poke his arm. "Enough. Go, Celina's probably waiting for you."

Yeah, she probably was. Without another word, Jay nodded and got in his car. He drove down to the main road and stopped. Jay shook his head in frustration and let a little growl loose. Celina was waiting for him despite the fact that he might never arrive for her.

The truth of the matter was, when had he ever _not _been in love with Rei Hino?

* * *

Zach stared at Linda in shock.

"Y-you want me to do _what?_" he yelped.

Linda shushed him and dragged him over to her couch in the living room. After Ami's rather dramatic reaction, they'd decided to forego dinner and order something from the Andersons' home. Zach had been in charge of carrying Ami from the restaurant to their car. He'd followed their car to their townhome and once they arrived, he'd carried her up to her room on the second floor of their townhome.

It hadn't been hard. The girl weighed next to nothing. Then, Linda had pulled him aside and explained that Ami, maybe, sort of, probably figured that he was her boyfriend. She hadn't had the heart or the courage to explain what was really going on and that was why his arrival had been perfect.

"You're my mentor, Linda. The reason why I decided to become all that I have. This is preposterous and you know it. If your daughter is as bright as you say she is, why bother with this charade?" he pressed. Zach could understand that Linda wasn't in an easy position either but he didn't feel like getting caught in the crossfire.

"Well, you'll be staying here while you work at the college - "

"Temporarily," Zach interrupted.

Linda glared at him. "No. There's a perfectly good room in the basement. It'd be economical and you know you can trust us."

"I'll find a place in time. I just- " Zach trailed off as Linda began shaking her head.

"No. You're staying with us." Her eyes softened and she looked a bit guilty. "I dragged you into this and so I owe you."

Zach sighed and closed his eyes knowing his decision was going to blow up in his face. As if that had ever stopped him before. "Fine. I'm not pretending to be something I'm not. That'd just be awkward. I'll cover for you, though."

Linda smiled in relief and threw her arms around him. "Thank you. Now, go get unpacked. I'm just going to check on Ami for a bit." She turned to head upstairs but stopped, her back still to Zach. "Some mentor, hmm?"

Her tone was dejected and Zach saw the weight of the situation in her tense shoulders. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back into him for comfort.

"You're still allowed to be in love. You're still a woman."

There was a thump and they both looked up only to find Ami staring at them in shock, mouth agape, from the top of the stairs.

Zach sighed.

Crap. So much for _that _first impression.

* * *

**AN: **So first things first. Thank you to: **Neanda**, **Isis Aurora Tomoe**, **Rawr Supertastic** and **James Birdsong**. Your reviews made me very, very, very happy.

Second, I realize that a lot of the characters grew up on the same streets...it just makes life easier for me that way, despite the lack of originality.

Third, I couldn't stand how I left the last chapter. Bear with me...and *** **please re-read Kai's part in the last chapter, changes have been made! *****

Fourth, thank you for reading...please review! Tell me if I'm giving you enough (too much?) background info and keep hanging in there :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Sailor Moon. Or Apple or any of Luther Vandross' songs. But I do love that voice...

* * *

Nate stuck his key into the door to unlock it as quickly as he could. He could hear the phone ringing in the house and Kai probably wasn't home yet. It was Wednesday which meant that his mother was probably on the line. He unlocked the door in time to hear the call go to their voicemail.

"Nate, baby. It's mom. I'll call you -"

Nate dropped his bag by the door and lunged for the phone to answer it. "Hello? Ma? I was just getting in. How are you?"

He could hear the smile in Ruth Thompson's voice. "I'm fine, baby. Your father's driving me nuts. He would spend all day fixing that front lawn and anything he finds in the house if he could. He's got nothing to do even though he took two weeks off for vacation."

"Oh, yeah. I feel real bad for Dad. It's gotta feel horrible to be settling back into normal life after a cruise to the Bahamas." His parents had been gone on a one-week cruise that his father had surprised his mother with. Nate took after his father. They were both floppy romantics and the whole world knew it.

"Oh, Nate. I had _so _much fun! But, imagine my surprise when we returned to find that Lita had returned." Nate could hear the disapproval loud and clear. "With _two _children."

Nate took a deep breath. "Leave the girl alone, Ma. She still kept in touch with Art and Luna all of those years. It's not as if she left and never looked back."

"Still, she had a good thing going. She had a good home with the Williams. Well, everyone makes their choices, I suppose."

"Exactly," Nate agreed. "For instance, I've got to choose what to make for dinner." He loosened his neck tie and moved into the kitchen to check what was in the fridge. "Aaah, our fridge is completely empty. I forgot I was supposed to go shopping today."

"Do you want to come home for dinner? You and Kai are welcome," Ruth suggested.

"No," Nate declined. "I need to go shopping or it won't get done for a while with our schedules. Kai's out and will be all evening. I'll just whip something quick up later. Everything okay at home? I haven't spoken to Lana at all since Sunday."

Ruth sighed into the phone. "Other than your father driving me crazy, we're fine. Lana's staying with Dee on campus because Dee doesn't want to come home just yet. Luna and Art were telling me that Dee's having a bit of trouble accepting that Lita is back out of the blue." Nate shook his head as he walked into his room to change into more comfy clothes. He cared for both women and hoped they came to some sort of understanding soon.

"That's rough."

"Yes, it is. Well, I'll let you go so you can get your shopping done. Don't buy too much junk food."

"Do you know who I live with, Ma? The guy is enough of a health nut. I just balance things out."

"Mmhmm. Tell it to someone who believes it," Ruth teased.

"Ah, you're breaking my heart. Anyway, I love you. Tell Dad I said hi and to take it easy. He'll be back to work next week. He's not retired, yet!"

His mother bid him good bye amidst her chuckles and Nate smiled as he hung up the phone. At least he'd left her laughing. Nate picked up the photo of his parents he kept on the nightstand beside his bed. They'd taken the photo when they went on a family camping trip a couple of years ago. His mother and father were standing in the center of the photo, holding hands and smiling wide, surrounded by the great outdoors. He never got enough of the affection they still showed each other. Nate knew he wanted that someday. He just had to figure out _who_ he'd have it with but he believed it was coming. Eventually.

His parents hadn't had an easy road to a life together. Nate took in the contrast between his father's milk chocolate complexion and his mother's fair complexion. Growing up in a bi-racial family made him less sensitive in some ways to a person's colour of skin and more sensitive in other ways. Nate realized early that his family gave him a different way of defining things.

In terms of features, he took after their mother while Lana took after Dad. That being said, he had a slightly darker complexion than she did. Go figure. As it was, he had his father to thank for his thick, coarse curls. They were loose curls when he grew his hair out, so he'd decided to keep it short in a taper cut and not look like a girl. His sister had ended up with the tight, coarse curls and had made the decision to wear her hair as a 'fro. Nate had to admit the girl rocked it.

Nate changed into his favourite pair of jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed his wallet and keys and left the house. The drive to the local grocery store took Nate five minutes. The huge parking lot was mostly filled, so he'd had to park his jeep quite a ways away from the store. Nate needed the exercise anyway. He looked down and patted his non-existent belly, figuring it was only a matter of time until he had one. What with his hectic daily schedule, the band, the amount of junk food he'd been consuming and how he wasn't making time for a regular workout schedule – it wouldn't end pretty. Nate shook his head, wondering when he'd turned into such a pansy.

He entered the store, grabbed a shopping cart and mindlessly wandered the aisles, grabbing this and that. Nate was coming out of an aisle a bit too fast when his cart crashed into the end of someone else's cart as they were entering the aisle. He couldn't see who was on the other end of the cart but he heard a female grunt. Now, he'd done it. Jay always had warned him about controlling his superhuman strength. He moved towards the other cart to apologize.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't – Lita?"

Nate realized she looked as surprised as he felt. Her green eyes were wide open and her mouth formed a little 'o'. "Nate! I didn't expect to see you...here."

He could feel the edges of his eyes crinkle as he smiled at her. "Are you implying that I'm incapable of doing my own shopping?" Lita's eyes widened even more.

"Oh no! I just meant - "

"Relax. I'm just teasing you." Nate looked around Lita and at her full shopping cart. "Where are the kids?"

"They're at home with Luna. Art dropped me off because I need to get stuff together for tomorrow evening." She nodded to herself and smiled a small awkward smile at Nate. He found himself nodding in response, for lack of anything better to do.

"Oh – oh, yeah. We're going to be there. Tomorrow evening. It's the last planning session. We're setting up for the party the morning of."

"That's nice. Art and Luna will love it, I'm sure."

"Yeah."

Cue awkward silence. Nate wasn't good at finding things to say in an awkward situation. Jay had the silver tongue and Darien was so diplomatic, everyone ended up loving him. As for Kai – the guy only needed to lift an eyebrow and that was the equivalent of several sentences. He was about to say something inane just to get past the moment when Lita's cell rang. Nate watched as she pulled it out of her jacket pocket and answered it.

"Hey, Art." Nate noted how her shoulders relaxed and the smile on her face softened as she concentrated on what Art was saying. Despite what anyone else might say, Lita had something that worked with Art and Luna. Nate could see it in how she obviously felt safe with them. Her brow suddenly furrowed and her shoulders slumped.

"Oh, you're going to be a while? How long? Oh..." she trailed off. "Well, I'll just wait out front or -"

"I'll take you where you need to go," Nate blurted out. Lita looked up at him in surprise.

"Hang on, Art. I'm here with Nate." She put the phone to her chest so she could speak with Nate. "I'm going to drop this all off at Rei's place. It'll be easier for me to just go over there and do all of my cooking tomorrow. That would be going out of your way."

Nate shrugged. "I don't have much else going on tonight and it sounds like Art does. Let me take you."

"Are you sure?" Lita pressed.

"I'm offering, aren't I?" Nate returned. Lita chuckled and nodded.

"Ok." She put the phone back to her ear. "Art? Nate will drop me off. Yep. Mmhmm. Ok, love you."

She hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. "Thank you. It's very sweet of you."

"What are friends for?"

Lita looked up at him in surprise before she relaxed and looked away. "I guess." He felt something in his chest at her response, or lack thereof. Nate looked at her full cart once more.

"It looks like you're almost done. I need to start. Would you mind accompanying me?"

Lita inclined her head and gave a soft huff of amusement. "Let's do this."

They wandered about the store and Nate tossed Kai's essential groceries into the cart. Then he tossed _his_ essential groceries into the cart. It was hard to ignore the incredulous way Lita eyed the contents of his cart. Nate expected her to say something but she merely bit her lower lip and followed him around. He began to wonder what would push her over the edge. The Lita he remembered rarely held back whether it was for her benefit or to her detriment.

Nate surprised himself. Why was he even wondering that? He rarely did things to push others into certain behaviours. Nate tended to let it flow. Yet, something was bugging him about Lita's recent behaviour.

Nate led Lita down the candy aisle and grabbed three bags of candy, just to see what she would do. He wasn't surprised when Lita placed a staying hand on his forearm. "Enough." She took the bags from him and put them back on the shelf, ignoring his half-hearted protests.

"I think you're doing this to bug me," Lita stated, rounding on him with her hands on her hips. "I wasn't going to say anything but as a mother – no, as a human, I can't let you go through with this." She emphasized her sentence by gesturing to his cart. "Watch this. I'll save you money and get you eating healthier – in twenty minutes."

Nate felt a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He took in the way her green eyes glowed in challenge...and fun. "You're on."

Thirty minutes later, they were standing on the other end of the checkout lane bagging their items and placing them in their respective carts. Nate was looking at Lita in awe and she was chuckling at his expression. "I found out being a mom actually does give you superpowers," she teased.

"No kidding." Nate watched as Lita put the items in her re-usable bags. He finished bagging his items before she did and took the opportunity to observe her. Lita had always been a beautiful girl. Of course, Nate also found Serena and the girls beautiful as well. Since Lita was a part of that group, he'd lumped her in the little sister category along with the rest of them. He'd never thought anything more of any of the girls, but that didn't mean that he was blind either.

Yet, something was different now. It wasn't just that she was a mother; it was that she'd had so many life experiences in the span of six years. He didn't know what they were but he definitely knew that she wasn't a little girl anymore.

"You're staring." she pointed out, not meeting his gaze as she began pushing her cart towards the exit.

"I am." Nate confirmed. They kept a companionable silence as he led the way to his jeep. Lita moved to begin unloading her cart but Nate stopped her. He unlocked the door and before she had time to complain or resist had her loaded in the passenger;s seat. Nate quickly unloaded the groceries into the back seat of the jeep, making sure to separate his groceries from Lita's groceries. When he was finished he closed the door and got into the driver's seat. Nate could feel the annoyance emanating from the seat beside him. He decided to nip it in the bud.

"I know who you are, Ms. Independent. Being spoiled once in a while is a good thing, no?"

Lita took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She put a hand under her chin and looked out the window as Nate started the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. "I'm being over-sensitive, I know." Lita sighed softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Nate assured her. "I'll tell you what, next time we go shopping you can carry all the bags, unload them and everything. I'll get out of your way."

Lita chuckled and Nate smiled in response, his eyes still on the road. "Next time?" she pointed out.

Nate tilted his head and winked at her. "You know what I mean." He let a moment pass before diving off the deep end and indicating the ring she wore on a necklace. "So, should we be calling you Mrs. Something?"

She looked down and fingered her necklace. There was no hesitation or caution in her voice. There was a bit of a strange detachment, though. "His name was Freddie Parker. I never took his name. I'm the only McKenzie left. I wanted to keep that part of me around."

"Was?" Nate ventured.

"He passed away two years ago. Pneumonia."

"I don't know what to say." Nate really didn't. He didn't feel like platitudes would make a difference.

Lita shook her head and faced Nate.

"You don't need to say anything. There are enough people who feel they have to weigh in on my life." Before he could stop himself, he gently covered Lita's hand and squeezed. She sniffed twice and cleared her throat and he gave her a moment to recover. "Thanks Nate." He let go of her hand and placed his own back on the steering wheel.

"Ami told me you're working at the bank now. How's that going for you?" Nate knew she was changing the subject and allowed it. For now.

"Uh, it's going well. Really well. I've got my own office and stuff. I handle loans and things."

"Nate, that's wonderful! If I remember correctly, you were going to play football for the rest of your life and marry Molly Baker. How is she doing, by the way?"

Nate shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I'm zero for two on my life goals so far. I messed up my knee pretty badly at a game which ended that career path and Molly and I broke up several years ago. She, uh, she married Melvin."

Molly Baker had been two years older than the girls but was good friends with Serena. Nate had dated her all through high school and into college until she'd fallen for another man while he'd been preoccupied with his football injury. A good man who just happened to not be Nate.

He saw Lita's mouth open and close a few times as she struggled to find words. "Melvin! As in our Melvin? The one we graduated with? Are you for real?"

"Yeah," Nate chuckled. "They're amazing together though. It's a perfect fit."

Lita laughed lightly as she patted Nate's shoulder. "It's crazy how life works out."

"Yeah." He caught her eye as they came to a stop at a red light. "But I'm glad you decided to come back. It – I don't know – makes the group complete or something." She caught and held his gaze and he saw a spark of the old Lita in her eyes.

"Me too."

The rest of the twenty minute drive to the Ishikawa farm was filled with inane conversation until Nate decided to fill the silences inbetween with music. He set his iPod on shuffle and Luther Vandross' classic, "So Amazing" began playing softly from his speakers. Nate automatically began crooning along, not realizing that he was doing so until Lita hummed in approval from her seat.

"I love that song. I forgot you could sing, Nate. You should be singing more!"

"We have a band. Kai - he's a composer - he formed it and he plays drums. Chad plays lead guitar and Rei plays the keyboard and does vocals. I play the bass and do vocals occasionally. We're not half bad, in my opinion. We're actually playing at the wedding this weekend."

"Really?" Lita sounded genuinely surprised. "I feel like I've missed so much!"

There wasn't much time to say much more because they were just pulling up to Grandpa's house.

"Thanks again Nate," Lita murmured.

"For what?"

"I'm grateful for the warm welcome I've received – well, that_ we've_ received since we've gotten home. I know not everyone feels the same way but you all have been...super."

Nate was about to respond when the front door swung open and Rei stepped out of the house followed by Grandpa.

"Well, here we go," Lita murmured under her breath.

Nate looked at Lita and lifted an eyebrow. "You mean you haven't been by to see Grandpa, yet?" Lita shook her head and shrugged lightly.

"I've just been trying to keep myself and the kids together while we unpack. There are loads of people I haven't greeted yet."

They both turned to look at Grandpa who was watching them watching him.

"This should be fun, then," Nate commented. Lita nodded slowly, a hesitant smile on her face. For the second time that night, Nate reached for her hand and squeezed. He wasn't about to unpack why he kept reaching for her hand.

Then Lita squeezed his hand back and smiled at him and something in his universe began to shift.

* * *

"Grandpa!" Rei hissed. "You can't be spying on people through the windows that's not borderline creepy, it's full-on creepy!" Grandpa paused his observing through the sheer curtain only to stick his tongue out at Rei.

"It's not my fault they're sharing a moment on my property. Doesn't that _make _it my duty to observe them? I paid for every bit of this land after all!"

Rei threw her hands up in the air. "What moment? Lita and Nate having nothing to do with each other." Grandpa shook his head at her in disappointment.

"Have I taught you nothing, Rei?" He beckoned her over to his spot at the window. "Patience is key. You find out much more than people admit to by observing them."

Rei sighed but figured she'd take a quick peek to appease Grandpa. Lita was looking at the house with a bit of apprehension and Nate was looking at Lita while saying something. He reached over towards Lita and Lita looked down for a moment before turning to Nate and gifting him with a grateful smile. It was the slightly dazed look on Nate's face afterwards that threw Rei for a loop. She turned with wide eyes back to her smug grandfather. Grandpa nodded knowingly and Rei pursed her lips.

"Just don't say anything to Mina," Rei warned. "She'll go out of her way to make it happen but they need to take it slow. The two of them - "

"Fall fast but linger long," Grandpa finished for Rei. "I'm still older than you, my dear. I can say this because I was there while each of you did your growing up. For now, let's go say hello!"

Rei went to the front door and pulled it open before waving Grandpa through. He rubbed his hands before stepping outside and Rei resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his behaviour. She waved at the pair sitting in the jeep and beckoned them over. Nate got out first and went over to Lita's door before completely passing her by and opening the back door. Lita got out on her own and smacked his shoulder lightly, a huge grin on her face as she helped Nate gather the groceries she was bringing over. They walked up the front path and the steps together, an easy rapport obviously present between them.

"Hi Grandpa," Lita greeted, almost shyly.

Grandpa said nothing and only nodded at Lita, choosing only to maintain a detached air as his gaze swung between the two and then fixed on a point over their shoulders. Rei exchanged a look with Nate and rolled her eyes. Nate lowered his head and stifled a laugh.

"What's so funny, huh?" Grandpa asked, a gruff note in his tone. His arms came up to cross over his chest and he widened his stance. "And why did you leave the lady unassisted?"

"Don't look at me like that, Grandpa." Nate teased. "I unloaded all of her groceries in the jeep at the store. Then I got in trouble for it."

Grandpa harrumphed. "If women ask why chivalry is dead..."

"It's because they made us kill it," Nate finished, his lips twitching as he fought not to smile.

"Ok, testosterone twins, let's get the groceries straight into the kitchen," Rei ordered while leaning over to kiss Nate's cheek and pulling Lita in for a quick hug. "Hello Lita, Art called ahead to let us know Nate was bringing you over."

"I'm sorry," Lita shook her head at herself, her eyes meeting Rei's eyes. "I should've called ahead – I've just been so absent-minded." Rei placed a hand on Lita's arm and she searched Lita's eyes for a moment, saying nothing. Grandpa cleared his throat and then led the way to the kitchen after taking the groceries bags from Lita. Once the men had left, Lita angled her head back towards the jeep.

"There's a few more bags that you and I could manage."

Rei nodded her head and called out to the men in the kitchen. "We're grabbing the last few bags, don't worry about coming back out!"

"Ok!" Grandpa answered from the kitchen. Rei followed Lita out the door and down the steps towards Nate's jeep.

"You're doing that thing where you say nothing and everything all at once," Lita lightly commented. Rei's lips twitched.

"Well, you're doing that thing where you say nothing hoping I'll avoid discussing the issue. Which really isn't like you," Rei returned.

Lita grabbed the last two grocery bags and handed one to Rei before swinging an arm around Rei's shoulders. "Now, I _know _I'm home."

Rei lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, you're going to be smart with me, now?"

"No ma'am!" Lita saluted. Rei chuckled before slipping behind Lita to tickle her sides from behind. Lita squealed and squirmed wildly in response. "Not cool!" Lita exclaimed. Rei merely gave her a smug look.

"There's more where that came from. Don't mess."

The girls entered the kitchen and the men looked up at their laughter. Rei caught Grandpa nudging Nate who was putting things away in the fridge. Nate nodded and winked at Grandpa.

"Well, I think it's time you step into the study with me, Lita-girl."

Lita's steps faltered a moment before she nodded. "All right." She handed the rest of the groceries to Nate who clapped a hand on her shoulder and with one last look back at Rei, followed Grandpa out of the kitchen and down the hall. Rei and Nate stood silent for a moment, looking at each other.

Rei had always had a special bond with Nate. It went without saying that she had a special place for each of the guys in their little circle. Yet, Nate had always been the most intuitive of the group and was therefore on her wavelength.

If any of them had needed someone to talk to that had a sympathetic ear while growing up, they chose Darien or Lita. If they needed to laugh, they went with Jay or Serena. If they didn't want to talk, they went with Kai or Rei. If they needed advice, they would go to either Ami or Mina. Yet, if they ever needed to cry or spill secrets, Rei knew that Nate had it covered.

"So," Rei drawled. "We know what Grandpa's up to but Lita might not."

Nate nodded picking up what she wasn't saying. "She's got it handled. If she's hanging back, it's because she wants to see where others stand regarding her situation."

Rei moved towards him to help put away the remaining groceries. They worked in silence both thinking of what might be going on the other side of the study doors. Rei decided to break the silence first. "There's going to be quite a bit of us tomorrow night. Lita volunteered to cook for all of us. I tried to suggest that we order out or do potluck but she insisted."

A slightly troubled look came over Nate's face. "Let her do what she has to do. She probably feels like the prodigal son, right now. It's only natural that she feel like some atoning is in order."

"The girls and I haven't had time to talk about it since she arrived but we know she needs time before she can let us know what's going on with her. It's just really weird having to tiptoe around Lita. I mean, usually, there's no pretense with that girl."

"We'll find our equilibrium again." Nate fixed his dark brown eyes on her and they searched for things Rei knew he would probably find. "How are _you _doing, my dear Rei?" Rei held nothing back.

"My father called the other day. He called to wish me a happy birthday."

Nate scoffed and shook his head in dismay. "Your birthday was several weeks ago."

"There was something else he wanted, which was why he bothered to call in the first place. I couldn't figure it out because the conversation was too short for that. On the bright side, the conversation was a short one." She laughed but it sounded bitter in her ears. Rei met Nate's sympathetic gaze and placed a hand on his cheek briefly. "I'll deal with it, I always do." The look he gave her told Rei that Nate wasn't so sure about that.

"Have you talked to Jay about it?" Nate fished, while changing the subject. Rei watched his face for signs of teasing but he kept it carefully neutral.

"No. I don't want to drag him into that again. He's dating someone now."

"Yeah, Celina Toews. Doesn't she work for that marketing company that shares the building with your newspaper?"

Rei nodded. "Yup. She seems like she'd be scary to know but she's really quite sweet underneath it all. We butted heads for a bit before she helped me out of a rough patch."

"Relationship troubles? You cried on her shoulder?"

Rei raised an eyebrow at Nate who was grinning. "No, my nylons had runs in them. She let me know before I had to head into a big meeting. We're a lot alike and the girls in our respective offices aren't too fond of us. She had my back. Call it what you will, we're making whatever weird not-really-a-relationship we have work."

"I see," was Nate's deadpan reply. He shook his head and moved to seat himself at the kitchen table now that the groceries were all put away. "How's work?"

Rei moved to the cupboards and grabbed two cups. She then went to the fridge and pulled out juice and poured some into the cups, knowing that Nate was not a tea-drinker. Rei then went to join him at the table, nodding when he thanked her for the drink. "You mean when am I going to finally be able to write for the newspaper instead of answering phones and making photocopies and sending e-mails?"

"No, I mean when are you going to write like you've always wanted to write?" Nate could be very blunt, at times. Rei paused and listened to the low murmur of voices coming from down the hall. Satisfied that Grandpa wouldn't be near to over hear what she had to say she leaned in towards Nate, who instinctively leaned in closer as well.

"I joined this writing group."

Nate nodded in understanding. "Oh! One of those online forum things?"

"No, it's like a support group for struggling amateur authors that meets in real life. We meet at the old community hall, in fact. There are all kinds of characters in the group and it's run by some professors from the college who use the group as a chance to do research for their papers and whatnot."

Rei fought a giggle as Nate's eyebrows slowly rose towards his hairline. The poleaxed look on his face said it all. "I know, right? I mean, I had to swallow my pride and I actually went to my second meeting last night. I haven't told anyone yet..."

"Because you're embarrassed?" Nate suggested. Rei opened and closed her mouth a few times searching for what she was feeling about the whole situation.

"Maybe? A bit? Maybe I just can't swallow that much more of my pride. I just know that this plan of action is mine right now and I want to keep it mine, ridiculous or not for now." She paused before throwing one more tidbit in. "You know what? We actually do the 'Hi, my name is...' bit at the beginning of every meeting." They looked at each other for a beat before Nate burst out laughing and Rei joined in, giggling at his reaction.

Nate held his stomach as he gasped for air. "Oh, you made my night. You have to let me know how it goes."

Rei nodded. "Apparently, at the end of the year we write something and perform it for family and friends and each other. I'm thinking of giving it a try."

"I'll be there." Nate held up his hand for a high-five and Rei returned it, beaming at him. She was about to launch into several stories about the characters she'd met, especially this one amazing older lady that she always sat beside at the meetings, when the doorbell rang. And rang again. Then it went crazy.

"What the heck is going on?" Grandpa shouted from the study. Nate and Rei were already on their feet and hurrying to the front door.

"I don't know!" Rei exclaimed. She reached the door first and looked through the peephole expecting to find something dramatic. Rei found Serena in the beginning stages of her hysterics and, yes, that was dramatic enough. She pulled the door open and a red-eyed, sniffling Serena plowed into her open arms.

"_Oh Reiiii!_" Serena wailed. Rei looked over her shoulder and took in Nate and Grandpa's bewildered faces. She took in the fact that Grandpa was holding Lita's hand, though she stood slightly behind him, looking worriedly at Serena. Lita looked as if she'd been crying as well, but she looked more content with her release than Serena did at the moment. Rei turned back to Serena.

"What's going on?" Rei made sure to make the tone of her voice as soothing as possible. Serena took in a shuddering breath and released it in a noisy sob.

"Their anniversary is r-ruined! W-what are we going to d-do?"

Rei sighed and looked over her shoulder for help. The men stood where they were not quite sure they wanted to get involved just yet. She looked to Lita who squared her shoulders and stepped forward. Lita reached out and put a hand on Serena's shoulder and just like that, Serena let go of Rei and began clinging to Lita who began smoothing her hair down as she led her back to the kitchen. The three left standing in the hallway all exchanged puzzled glances before following Lita and Serena. When they got to the kitchen, Lita had gotten Serena to sit down and she'd armed her with several tissues.

"What's going on?" Grandpa tried.

Serena blew her nose and reached for Lita's hand. "The b-baker cancelled on us. The party is f-four days away. He was the only baker that Art ever w-went to because Art is super p-picky!"

Rei's shoulders slumped. This development was actually more of a stumbling block than anything. She moved over to where Serena stood and put a hand on her trembling shoulder. Nate spoke up from where he was standing, beside Grandpa.

"Okay, breathe Serena. Did the guy give you a reason? I mean, you were already paid up and stuff. He can't just up and do that to us."

"Th-that's just it! He had a really good reason!" Serena paused to try to calm herself down and everyone focused in for her next words. "He j-just broke up with his girlfriend and c-can't make the cake for emotional r-reasons! He's emotionally distressed!"

The silence that followed was a long one, punctuated by Serena's short sobs. Rei looked to Lita who looked to Nate who looked to Grandpa, who began cracking up. Grandpa laughed so hard, he was smacking his knee as tears streamed down his face. Nate tried to keep a straight face but failed and joined in on the laughter, having to resort to holding his stomach for the second time that night. Rei managed to keep the hilarity at bay due to her growing annoyance with the baker but Serena began sobbing even louder.

"It's not funny! The poor man!" she cried, causing the men to laugh even harder. Lita began shushing her and asking her to calm down, as she pulled her back`c into her embrace. Rei directed some of her annoyance at the men in the room and gave them her well-practiced 'Behave' eyebrow. It took a moment or two, but the funnies passed and they calmed. Once they were sober, the reality of the situation hit them. It wasn't going to be easy to find someone that Art liked, who would be able to pull it off in the amount of time they had left until the party.

"What are we going to do?" Rei asked, directing the question at no one in particular. They spent a moment thinking of a solution before Grandpa cleared his throat for their attention. All eyes focused on him.

"If I remember correctly, Art used to love Lita's baking exploits just fine."

Serena immediately perked up, hope shining in her big blue eyes as she unleashed them upon Lita. Rei turned to Lita but didn't say anything. Whether or not this became an awkward situation depended on Lita's reaction. Lita looked around the room at the faces that were now looking expectantly at her. She pursed her lips, and her brow furrowed in thought.

"He loves tuxedo cake, right?"

Serena nodded enthusiastically, biting her lower lip in expectation. "This cake is especially for the wedding party and that's about five or six people. Everyone else gets the non-descript tuxedo cake." Rei smiled as Nate and Grandpa began grumbling with each other. Serena realized her mistake and was quick to try and backtrack. "Oh no, I meant - "

"They're just teasing, Serena," Rei assured. She thought to offer Lita one more out before she made her decision. "Hon, if it's too much. We could always figure something else out."

"I'll do it." Lita fixed her with a determined green-eyed stare. "You all are just lucky you gave me enough time to get things together. "

Serena whooped in glee throwing herself at Lita. The men stood there preening as if they'd solved the problem. Which Grandpa technically had, but Rei wasn't going to let them know it. Their mini-celebration was interrupted by the sound of Nate's stomach growling. He sheepishly placed a hand over his stomach.

"I was going shopping for dinner when I ran into Lita," he explained. At that explanation, Lita stood and looked at her watch.

"It's just after seven." She peered around at everyone else in the room. "Who else hasn't eaten?"

Grandpa raised his hand and Serena followed suit. "Darien had plans with a co-worker this evening so I haven't had anything either."

Lita nodded decisively and looked to Rei. "May I take over your kitchen?" They smiled at each other when Grandpa began grumbling under his breath about just whose house they were currently in. Rei nodded and gestured towards the stove and fridge.

"Have at it."

Lita nodded and walked over to the fridge to take stock of what she had to work with. Seemingly satisfied with what she'd found, she closed the fridge door and turned to point at Rei. "You're still vegetarian, right?" Rei nodded. "Ok, how does breakfast sound for dinner? Omelettes and hash browns?" Lita was speaking to a captivated, hungry audience. Her lips twitched in amusement. "Just let me call my kids. Rei, can you grab ingredients that everyone might want in their omelettes? Serena, please get some potatoes ready. Grandpa, you sit down and hang out with Nate." Everyone began moving to do her bidding and Lita stepped out into the hallway to call home.

"Bossy bunch of females these women," Grandpa grumbled to no one in particular as he took a seat at the table.

* * *

Lita had to admit that she'd always felt at home in a kitchen. Her children rarely ate food straight from packets or cans or without her finding ways to make things creative. It was where her mother had taught her the basics and her father praised her early futile attempts at making gourmet food. Food, for Lita, was her way of loving on the people she loved the most in this world. The way she'd been loved on as a little girl.

So, in essence, she felt most at home in a kitchen where she was cooking for others. When everyone left the Ishikawa farm happy with the meal, sated and expressing their extreme gratefulness for the meal (or in Serena's case, tearing up in gratitude), Lita felt satisfied. She ended up getting a ride home with Serena since driving her home would make Nate go out of his way, even more than he already had. Besides, Darien and Serena didn't live too far from Luna and Art.

Once they arrived, Lita invited Serena in but she'd declined with the following reason: "I'm still so excited that you're making the cake. I might spill some secrets if I come in." So, Lita got out of the car and waved goodbye from the driveway as Serena drove off to Darien. Lita entered the house and noted that everything was quiet and the only light came from the kitchen. She slowly made her way towards the kitchen to say goodnight to whomever was still up.

"Hey, Art. I'm home."

Art looked up, his blue eyes sleepy and a handprint on the side of his face from where he'd been leaning on his palm. He smiled softly at Lita and nodded. "I was just waiting up for you, Sugar."

Something warm and fluffy took up residence in her chest area. It had been a long time since someone had done that for her. She looked down at her feet. "You didn't need to," she mumbled. Art stood up and lifted her chin.

"Yes, I did. It's what dads do. Now the kids are in bed and out for the count. They had a busy day with Luna at the park. I'm heading in now, hmm?"

Lita nodded and smiled when Art patted her head as he walked by. She stood there for a moment, listening to his footsteps as he ascended the stairs to get to the master bedroom on the third floor. Lita turned off the light in the kitchen and made her way downstairs to the basement suite. She put her things away and immediately headed to the children's room. Lita peeked in and grinned at both of her children sprawled across their little beds, breathing heavily in their sleep. She tiptoed inside and kissed their cheeks and adjusted their blankets around them.

She left the room as quietly as she'd come inside and went to her own room. Lita got ready for bed but found once she got into bed, sleep was nowhere to be found. Thoughts were running rampant in her head, leaving little room for rest.

Her children were dealing with the move quite well. Most of the people that mattered had accepted her return without giving her much trouble. Still, some part of her held back when it came to fully embracing this new life she'd made the choice to lead.

Lita thought of Freddie. Not so much in sentimental terms but as she'd last seen him. Frail and so close to death, laying on that hospital bed. She'd been angry with him. Furious. Lita scoffed at herself. She was still in love with the memory of what they'd had but that was the extent of what they had. Memories.

Lita still loved Freddie, yes. She always would, she suspected. That didn't change the reality they'd had. Lita sighed and tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

It also didn't change the reality she now had.

* * *

**AN**: I know Lita is getting a lot of story time. Her story is just easier to jump into right away. Everyone else requires a running start...haha. There's more to come for our other couples, trust me.

Thank you **LeaBelle **and **Rawr Supertastic – **you two rock!

In other news, the cake bit actually happened to my best friend. We may or may not have reacted the same way. Everything still came together beautifully with a different cake...I hope that baker guy found some peace, though. XD

**Characters and their counterparts **(hope this helps):

Malachite/Kunzite – Malakai Rasmussen

Jadeite – Jaden Harris

Zoicite – Zachary Lawrence

Nephrite – Nathan Thompson

I believe that everyone else's counterparts are pretty straight-forward and if I don't say anything about a certain character it may be because I'd like to keep you guessing for a bit. Ten million points to whoever guesses 'who's who' with other minor SM characters that make appearances in future chapters! Haha!

Read, enjoy and review please!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Sailor Moon.

* * *

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Ami sat up and blearily wiped at her sleepy eyes before leaning over to turn her alarm clock off. She put a hand to her head and rubbed her temples hoping to alleviate the headache that she'd woken up with. Once again, she'd had a rough night and hadn't been able to get a good night's rest.

Generally, when she was faced with a problem, she went at it as logically as possible. She pulled it apart and made sure she understood where each component belonged and how they would behave. Then she could decipher what relationship they had with each other and that, in turn, would tell her what she needed to reach a certain solution. Et voila, problem solved! Usually, in more ways than one.

Zach was someone she just couldn't decipher. Perhaps she just didn't want to. She'd avoided spending time with him and her mother as much as possible since his arrival. It was a childish way of dealing with things, hiding at work or the library or in her bedroom but it was an easier way, for now.

Ami groaned and ran her fingers through her sleep-mussed hair. She had to get ready for work. She didn't waste time in bed but immediately got up to get ready in the bathroom, across the hall from her room. Ami stripped, got into the tub and turned on the water. She didn't flinch when it came out cold, taking time to warm up, she was so distracted by the thought of the newest addition to their home. If she could be honest, she had no problem with her mother dating someone younger than herself. The real issue lay in the fact that this behaviour wasn't like her mother at all. Linda was a constant, or at least, she used to be. Ami could count on her mother to _not _be a variable. She knew her mother better than that. That was why this – _this situation_ was so hard for her to accept. Right?

The rest of her time in the bathroom passed quickly and in no time, she was dressed in jeans, a grey t-shirt, her favourite royal blue cardigan. Ami headed down for some breakfast, but just as she got to the last few steps, she could hear her mother and Zach talking in the kitchen.

Well, maybe she'd skip out on breakfast today. Or she could pick something up before work. There was a beat of silence in the kitchen and then a low, masculine chuckle followed by a girlish giggle. Ami raised her head heavenward and took a deep calming breath before she began tiptoeing her way down the hallway. The stairs faced the front doorway and were only visible from the living room. The kitchen was down at the opposite end of the hallway and so they wouldn't be able to see her unless someone was standing in the doorway.

She was almost at the front door, only a few feet away, when someone cleared their throat from behind her. Ami whirled around on her black ballet flats, heart beating and cheeks burning. The first thing she noticed were his eyes. His gaze was - as usual - knowing, overly presumptuous and very, very green. Ami took in the rest of Zachary Lawrence as he leaned casually against the kitchen doorway, facing her. He was dressed in a pale lavender dress shirt and black slacks. The effect was a professional yet casual look, that seemed effortless when everything he was wearing fit the man _so _well. His blonde hair, which was of medium length, fell in soft layers about his face. The cut of his hair framed his wonderfully defined cheek bones. He'd be an excellent subject to photograph, given the right lighting, fabrics and backgrounds. Ami shook her head, wondering why she was channelling Mina now out of all times. Then she flushed, realizing she'd been staring at him in a daze. He must think she was a floozy, fainting into his arms and going into a daze whenever their eyes met.

"Ami," he paused and looked over his shoulder, nodding at something her mother was saying. Zach turned back towards her. "You weren't planning on sneaking out without saying good morning, were you?"

Something primal and not-so-nice began growling inside her chest. This was _her _home. That was _her _kitchen. Her mother was _her _mother. Yet, all she could find to say was, "Actually, I was just in a hurry this morning." There was no sign of the frustration she was feeling in her voice, only a polite detachment.

Zach said nothing and merely stared at her, his eyebrow raised - daring her to tell him something he actually believed. Ami held his gaze for a few moments before she couldn't any longer, choosing instead to look down at her feet and then at her watch. She could _feel _her cheeks turning redder than strawberries. There was the click-clack of high heels against the hardwood floor of the hallway and Ami looked up to find her mother now standing beside Zach, an apprehensive look on her face as she looked back at her daughter. Ami took in the sight of them standing together and she figured that perhaps she'd better get used to what she was looking at. If only for her mother's sake. Linda opened her mouth to say something but Ami wanted to beat her to it.

"I'm sorry, Mom." Here, she shot her mother an apologetic glance. "I know I've been leaving earlier than usual this week. The office is...busy," she offered lamely. Linda nodded resignedly and gestured to Zach.

"I just wanted to let you know that Zach will be joining us tonight at the anniversary rehearsal at Rei's house." Ami froze and stood there blinking at her mother for a moment. Zach and Linda were looking at her expectantly, waiting for a response. Even though they'd _already _decided to go ahead with whatever they had planned.

"Sure. Ok. As long as Rei and Lita are fine with it, I guess." Ami began walking backwards slowly, reaching behind her for the door. She tried to ignore the way Zach and her mother exchanged a glance. She couldn't ignore the way her mother took a step forward, but was stopped by Zach's staying hand. "Umm, I'll see you both later then." With that farewell, she left the house and didn't look back. Ami walked in the direction of her bus stop and stood under the shelter, realizing she'd left the house with everything except a jacket. She looked up at the ominous clouds coming in from the east and sighed.

The bus showed up on time but Ami was taking it an hour before she actually needed to. She smiled at the bus driver and showed him her pass before moving to a seat near the front of the bus. Ami paid little attention to whatever else was happening around her, she was so lost in her thoughts. She shuddered in embarrassment thinking of how she'd fainted in Zach's arms the first time she'd seen him and realized who he was to her mother. Admittedly, Ami hadn't actually stayed unconscious that long. When she'd come to, she was in the back of her mother's car and they were headed home. For lack of a better plan, she'd pretended to stay unconscious until Zach had placed her in her bed and left her there to rest.

Ami knew her mother had known what was going on, that she was faking unconsciousness in the back seat like a melodramatic child. Ami wasn't presumptuous enough to think she could pull one over on a nurse. She also suspected that Zach knew as well but they'd both been nice enough to provide her with an out considering the situation, Ami guessed. She was embarrassed among other things but mostly embarrassed.

Ami realized with a start, that her stop in downtown Colford was approaching and Ami sat up in order to become more alert to her surroundings. Once the bus had passed the stop before her own, she pushed the button. The bus slowed and came to a stop and she got off the bus, thanking the driver with a nod and a wave.

She walked towards Little Stars Preschool as slowly as possible, but one block was only one block. Coming up to the building, she noted that her boss, Paige Black was already in – if the sapphire blue Lexus parked out front was anything to go by. Ami strode resolutely towards the building, determining that she would simply put her personal problems aside while she was at work. That was definitely something she could do.

Little Stars was certainly not the only preschool in Colford, but it was one of the more sought out preschools. It was run by Paige Black and her sister, Avery Toews. Paige had started out as an elementary school teacher and along the way had run into an opportunity to own her own preschool. She'd taken it and included her younger sister, who'd just graduated college with a teaching degree at the time. Several years later, Paige was now school director of a very successful preschool and out-of-school program.

"I know you don't approve. What can I do? I'm falling for him."

"Avery, give me a break."

Ami tilted her head and her steps faltered as she heard what sounded like an argument between Avery and Paige, coming from the staff room. They must not have heard the door chime when she'd come in. She didn't want to just walk in and disrupt whatever was going on but she'd be eavesdropping if she stood just outside the door.

"You've had your chance to fall in love. You married Seth. You're having your happily ever after. I know you sacrificed for the girls and I after mom and dad died but we sacrificed some too. Russell, he's special. Different. He's something that's just for me."

Paige scoffed. "He's a single father whose child comes to our preschool. He seems vulnerable because he's single. I don't want him for you."

"_You don't get a say in whom I fall for!_" Avery cried.

"I'm trying to put some sense in your head. He's already got a child. Are you telling me you're willing to step in and shoulder all of the responsibility that will bring?" Paige pressed.

"I love Beth. I'm sorry that you can't have children but you can't stop me from having a life." Ami felt extremely awkward hearing anymore of this argument and stepped forward to open the door. Both sisters swung towards her, varying expressions of anger and anguish on their faces. Their hands were clenched and their chests were heaving with emotion. Ami nodded at both of them and went to place her things in her usual spot.

"Good morning, Paige. Good morning, Avery. I'm in a little early again. I'm sorry to interrupt." With that, Ami slipped back out of the room and got settled in the front office. She could hear the soft murmur of the sisters' voices coming from the back room and then the voices stopped. There as the sound of approaching footsteps and Ami looked up to find Avery walking past, barely acknowledging her with a nod.

"I'm grabbing some coffee." Ami nodded, taking in the tense line in Avery's shoulders as she left the preschool, heading for the nearest coffee shop – which, coincidentally, belonged to Luna and Art. There were some more footsteps from behind her and Ami turned to greet Paige. Paige was looking like she was feeling, down and so unsure.

"I guess you heard all of that?" Paige inquired, not expecting an answer. "I won't insult your intelligence. You're more than capable of putting two and two together." She sighed and wiped non-existent dust off the corner of Ami's desk. "What do you do with family? I mean, you can't get rid of them and at the end of the day you don't want to be alone." She sniffed once and wiped at the corner of her eyes. Ami felt her heart go out to Paige and Avery.

"I understand where you're coming from," Ami replied. Paige looked over at her thoughtfully.

"Is family the reason you've been coming in early and staying later all week?" Paige gently probed, her intuition as sharp as ever. Ami nodded slowly at Paige. "Oh, the drama," Paige sighed. "I've got three younger sisters. All of them with minds of their own. Some days, I don't know why I try."

"I've been hiding out here and at the library when I'm not hiding out in my room at home. At least you try," Ami admitted. Paige looked over at Ami incredulously, one eyebrow raised. "Yes. Hiding out," Ami repeated. Paige chuckled and shook her head.

"You need to meet my sister, Bertie. You two are so alike sometimes its eerie." She sobered soon and looked towards the front door. "She'll be back and we'll be all right. Avery isn't one to hold a grudge. That'd be the youngest, Celina. Avery just needs time to cool down."

Ami nodded and gave Paige a moment to gather herself together. When Paige spoke next, her professional demeanour had returned full force. "Ami, when everyone comes in today, remind them that we'll be having a short staff meeting at the end of the day."

"No problem."

* * *

It was Thursday. Mina was at the cafe and had been for an hour. There'd been no sign of her mystery man. No new notes, no nothing. Carrie wasn't working today, so she didn't have her support. As time went on and there was no sign of him, Mina's enthusiasm withered.

She decided to leave quietly, but just as Mina was about to leave, she spied a familiar platinum blonde head of hair seated at a booth near the back of the restaurant. She made her way towards Kai. His head was bent over a novel and she sighed loudly before plopping down opposite him. Kai didn't move at first, but after a moment he lowered the book down and slowly glanced up at her.

She ran her eyes over him as she'd done many times in the years since he'd become one of Jay's closest friends. His hair was up in its customary short ponytail. Kai's grey-green eyes were focused on her own. Mina gave him a saucy smile and winked his way.

"You're so gorgeous, Kai. Why won't you ever model my clothes?"

Kai merely raised an eyebrow. "Good morning, Mina," he rumbled. He lifted the novel once more and began reading again. Mina sighed loudly and began pouting.

"Aren't I more interesting than that novel? Pay attention to me," she demanded. Kai merely kept on reading, seemingly uninterested in her. Mina knew better. Kai was the only one she knew who could keep tabs on everything around him while paying attention to something else.

"I think you have something you need to get off your chest. As usual, you'll turn me into your soundboard whether I agree or not. Since I have no say in this, I might as well wait until you start saying something. Until then, I'll do something productive."

He had a point. "Kai, am I attractive?" He stilled for a moment. "I mean, I know I'm attractive but am I worth sticking around for?" She placed her chin on the palm of her hand and studied the restaurant and its customers. "My relationships don't last. It's wonderful for the first while and then, when reality begins to set in, I either find a reason to leave or he does." She looked back at Kai to make sure he was paying attention. He was still reading the novel but he hadn't turned a page since she began speaking.

"What's this about?"

Mina sighed she couldn't resist . "There's this guy." Kai picked up his coffee and sipped it. "He leaves me napkin notes and he's British and he's usually here at this time and he might not be my Prince Charming but maybe this means that we're not meant to be and I shouldn't even try but I'd like to because he's making more of an effort for me than any man has lately."

Kai slowly lowered his mug and met her gaze, sharply. "This guy writes on napkins?" Mina nodded and shrugged lightly. Kai appeared to be thinking of something, his brow furrowed and Mina leaned forward.

"What? What are you thinking about?"

"No, I was just thinking that you might not want to get involved with someone who writes on napkins."

Mina nodded her head seriously. "So you're saying I shouldn't start anything with this guy, right? He might be a heartbreaker and I don't need that additional drama because I'm trying to get into fashion school and I don't need a man at all times. I can be me for me, right?"

Kai said nothing, but the little huff of breath he blew spoke volumes. He was thinking that she was being ridiculous. He checked that he had marked his place in his novel and waved at a waitress who was on the other end of the restaurant. She waved back, indicating that she'd be over once she was done with her current task. "Let's get something to eat. I skipped out on breakfast," he suggested.

"Leave room for tonight. Lita's cooking. Wait, you haven't tried her cooking, have you?" Kai shook his head and Mina rubbed her hands together happily. "You are in for a treat. The girl is a genius in the kitchen. She tried teaching Serena and I a thing or two, back in the day, but it hasn't stuck with me. At least Serena's progressing...kind of."

Kai cracked a small grin and Mina smiled at him brightly. "There it is. That elusive half-smile that makes you so mysterious. When will I get to see the full version?"

Kai pondered her for a moment before turning to look for the waitress. "You've never asked." Mina's eyes narrowed as she stared at Kai.

"Are you telling me that all I had to do was ask?" She shook her head. "I don't believe you. Why don't you smile for me right now?"

"You've never asked the _right_ question."

Mina rolled her eyes at him. "How is that new song coming?"

"I'm stuck," was his short reply.

Mina placed a hand over one of his. "You'll get it. You're brilliant that way. Then you'll let me be the first to hear it." Kai smiled that same half-smile, where his eyes crinkled at the corners. Mina would never tell him, but she almost didn't care if she never saw an unguarded moment of happiness in Kai. Almost. That eye-crinkle half-smile _was_ Kai.

The waitress was coming up to the table and Mina turned her thoughts to what she would have to eat for lunch. "Oh! Remind me to phone Ami before we leave. She'll need a ride for tonight."

Kai grunted his agreement and Mina rolled her eyes. At least he was paying attention to her.

* * *

The day passed much like usual for Ami. The rest of the staff arrived and the children began coming in. Ami did admit to surreptitiously observing Russell and his daughter Beth when they came in but nothing dramatic happened. Avery and Paige had both been in another room at the time. There were few incidents and everything passed rather smoothly. At lunch, Mina called to make sure Ami had a ride to Rei's place for the Anniversary meeting taking place there later.

"Hey Ames."

"Hi Mina."

"...What's going on? You sound like your dog ate your sandwich."

Ami smiled. "You mean - oh, nevermind. Well, I suppose you'll find out what's wrong with me at Rei's house tonight. What's up? Did you need something?"

"Oh no! I was just phoning to make sure you had a ride in to Rei's place because your mom was coming in later, right? I'm coming in with my parents and Jay so we could swing by or Serena could."

"Does Serena know that she'd be picking me up?" Ami asked.

"Hmm, nope."

"All right, I'll phone Serena and ask her then."

"Sounds good. See you later, doll!"

"See you, Mina."

Unfortunately, Ami never got the chance to phone Serena because a flustered mother came in with her twins, thinking she'd missed the deadline for registration for the new school year coming up. Soon enough, the school day came to an end, the children went home and Little Stars' staff had their short staff meeting. It was only afterwards, when Ami, Paige and Avery were the only ones left in the office once more that things went from normal to awkward. For Ami, that was.

Avery cornered Ami in the staff room, looking unusure of herself and regretful. "Ami," she began. "I'm sorry about this morning. You didn't need to see or hear any of that. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable in the office with Paige and I. We value you too much to have you feel that way."

Ami shook her head and reassured Avery. "You have nothing to worry about. I don't feel uncomfortable at all." She paused and made sure to catch Avery's eye. "Are _you_ all right?" Avery smiled tiredly at Ami.

"You're sweet. I'm just ready to go home, I think."

Ami nodded. They both turned towards the front office when the main door chimed, alerting them to someone coming in. Ami was about to go see who it was when Avery stopped her by placing a hand on Ami's arm. "Don't worry, I think Paige has got it." Ami listened for Paige's voice and was surprised to hear it coming from the front office. She'd thought that Paige was in her office. The second voice was a male voice. Perhaps it was Seth, Paige's husband, stopping in to see his wife. A moment later, Paige was in the doorway, looking straight at Ami. She had an eyebrow raised and an unreadable expression on her face.

"Ami, there's someone here for you." Ami paused at the tone of Paige's voice. She hadn't gotten around to phoning Serena so it couldn't be her. The way Paige was speaking, it was someone she didn't know. Ami stepped forward and slid past Paige. She could hear that Avery had followed her over into the front office.

"Ami." Ami stopped in her tracks and stared at Zach in shock. What was he doing here? How did he – why was he here?

"I'm here to pick you up. For tonight, right?" Zach answered. A small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Had she said that all out loud?

"Yes, just then and just now." Zach confirmed. Ami sighed and looked down at her feet. She made sure to bite her bottom lip in order to prevent any more slips of her tongue. He looked tired. His strawberry blond hair was mussed, as if he'd run his fingers through it several times throughout the day.

"Did Mom send you?" Ami inquired, daring to look at him once more. As usual, he met her gaze head on, never shying away.

"Yes."

A throat cleared behind her and Ami whirled around to find Paige and Avery looking on, unabashedly interested. They gestured for her to make the introductions. She sighed and turned back to Zach. "This is my boss and director of this preschool, Paige Black, whom you've met. This is her sister and a teacher here at the pre-school, Avery Toews." Ami indicated who was who as she introduced the ladies. "Ladies, this is Zach. He's - "

"New in town." Zach cut in, when Ami hesitated. "I'm new in town and it's lovely to meet you, ladies" The smile he sent their way was pure charm, complete with dimples. The women said hello and Ami noted the faint blush across Avery's cheeks. Ami narrowed her eyes at him. She didn't want to judge him, she barely knew him of course, but couldn't he tone it down a bit? As if hearing her thoughts, he turned to Ami and his smile widened and a twinkle entered his eye. She quickly turned to peek at Paige and Avery but they were still staring at Zach so apparently she hadn't said anything out loud. "Now, shall we head out?" he asked.

"Go on Ami," Paige dismissed her. "There's nothing more for tonight. We'll see you tomorrow. It was nice to meet you Zach." Zach nodded and smiled at the women.

"I'll just be a moment, Zach," Ami warned. "I've got to gather some things before I can head out."

"I'll be by the car, then. " Zach replied. Ami nodded and watched him turn to leave. Once the door closed shut, the sisters started in on Ami.

"Was _that _your family trouble?" Paige asked, eyes wide with curiousity. Avery whistled from beside her sister.

"Now _that _is trouble _I_ wouldn't mind having," Avery teased.

"Avery! Leave the girl alone. She's turning purple." Ami shook her head and shrugged lightly at Paige's observation, feeling the heat radiating off of her face.

"I'll see you both tomorrow. Have a good evening, both of you," Ami called as she went into the other room to grab her personal belongings. The women each said their good byes after extracting a promise to be kept updated. Ami headed out towards Zach and his car. He was leaning against the passenger's door, waiting for her, a faraway look on his face. Ami paused near him and grimaced at the thought of driving anywhere in that flashy...thing. Suddenly, Zach turned towards Ami, putting a hand to his chest. There was a deeply pained look on his face.

"Shelley is not _a thing_! She's the car of my life. Come on, Little Miss." Ami rolled her eyes at his enthused speech. Zach beckoned to Ami and opened the passenger door for her. She grimaced at her apparent lack of ability to stop her thoughts from making it out of her mouth when around this man. Ami quietly thanked him as she slid into the passenger seat. Which, she admitted to herself, was actually quite comfortable. Zach came back around and got in on his side. Before starting the ignition, he paused and gazed at something outside the car. "I know you don't know me and I know you have no reason to trust me. Trust your mother, hmm?"

Ami bit her bottom lip in order to keep her thoughts to herself. Zach sighed resignedly and began mumbling under his breath. He started the car which came to life and began purring like a contented cat stretched out on a sunny patch of carpet. "I'll need you to give me directions. I have a hard enough time finding my way around Colford as it is." Ami nodded her agreement.

"Turn right at the first set of lights. I'll let you know where to go once we get there."

"As you wish, Little Miss."

* * *

Serena was running late. Which wasn't something new. She hadn't been feeling well and after finishing some chores at home had laid down to rest. By the time she woke up, it was half an hour past the time she was planning to leave the house. By the time she actually left the house, she was an hour late. Serena was still feeling a bit queasy but it was more manageable now. That nap had done her some good.

Serena tried not to think of what Rei would have to say once she showed up. She did think it was odd that she hadn't heard from Ami though. Mina had called earlier that morning to say that she'd be phoning Ami to make sure she had a ride to Grandpa's place. Neither of them had called back so Serena assumed that meant she was going on her own. Darien would be coming later, after picking up Dee and Lana.

She pulled into Rei's driveway and waved at Chad who was doing yard work on the already immaculate yard. Serena gathered her belongings and got out of the car. "Hey Chad! Where is everyone?"

Chad lifted a hand in greeting. "Serena! They're inside. Lita's cooking. It smells hecka good in there. Don't touch any of it, though. If Lita doesn't catch you, Rei will." Serena smiled and shook her head.

"Did you try?"

Chad's smile was smug. "I got away with a spoonful of dip before Lita smacked me and Rei yelled at me and kicked me out of the house."

"Ok, I'll go check it out. I don't think they'd get too mad at me, hmm?" Chad looked her over dubiously.

"No offense, but you'd probably get off worse than me." Serena hung her head and nodded at his accurate assessment.

"You're totally right."

"Well, I better get back to making this yard look like Grandpa wants it, otherwise I'll really be in the dog house. I'll be in when dinner's ready."

"Right, well, here I go." Serena squared her shoulders and made her way towards the house. She could hear Chad's faint call for good luck behind her. The door was unlocked and she cautiously stepped inside, but stopped when all of the delicious smells assaulted her nose. Serena began sniffing the air appreciatively, not caring who saw her wiggling her nose here and there.

"Hi Bunny."

"Hi Grandpa! W-wait! Are you crying? What's wrong?" His tear stained face held a haunted look that was scaring Serena. She ran over to him and looked him over, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Are you feeling ok? Did you overdo it? You know you're not supposed to overdo things!" He reached up and put both hands on Serena's hands, and looked at her in earnest.

"Is this the face I should go with during my MC speech? Does it move you? I have three more." Grandpa then proceeded to show her each one. Serena was pretty sure that her eyes crossed with relief as she stepped back and away from Grandpa, placing a hand over her heart.

"You _can't _do that!" Serena whined. "You scared me!" Grandpa crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her expectantly, his left foot tapping against the ground. Serena took a deep breath to calm herself further. "Go with the second face."

"The Proud Daddy?"

"Yes. It looks the most natural. The other ones don't look right." Grandpa gave her a thumbs up. "Ok, well, I'm going to go practice my speech some more." Without another word, he turned and made his way into his own study, shutting the door behind him. Serena stared after him nonplussed.

"Ok, then. I'll be seeing you...I guess," she mumbled under her breath. Serena shook her head but continued on towards the origin of the sweet aromas, the kitchen. The sight that met her once she entered the kitchen had her mouth hanging open in shock. She might've drooled a tiny bit.

There were salads, lemon grilled potatoes along with some grilled vegetables, baked fish, barbecue chicken, a tofu dish, rice pilaf and some sort of bread, just out of the oven along with a few other side dishes. Basically, there was enough food to feed a small army. Standing in the middle of it all where Rei and Lita, their heads bent over something that was cooking on the stove. Serena crept closer and peered into the pot over their shoulders. It was a vegetable soup, most likely for the vegetarians of the group.

"Lita! You outdid yourself. This is amazing!" Serena exclaimed. "When did you get here to do all of this?" Both girls spun around at the sound of her voice and Serena's smile grew wider at their appearances.

"She was over last night to prep some things and then left the kids with Luna all day in order to get this done." Rei explained. "I took the day off to help her get it done. _You _are late."

"I know, I know. I wasn't feeling well this morning. I think it's that flu going around. Forgive me, hmm? I would've been here earlier if it wasn't for that," Serena cajoled. Lita came up to Serena and peered closely at her face.

"You do look a little flushed. Are you sure you're ok for tonight?"

Serena nodded and gave Lita a bright smile. "Don't worry about me. Anyway, I've got updates on how everyone is getting here. Mina and Jay are coming in with their parents. Kai's carpooling with Nate. The Thompsons are coming for dinner but Linda's coming after the dinner. She and Ami have a guest, apparently. Darien is bringing the girls and my parents are coming with Sammy afterwards, as well." Rei nodded and gestured around the kitchen.

"Extra guest or not, Lita's got it covered."

Lita held her hands up and flushed a sweet, rosy hue. "Thanks for your help Rei."

Rei smiled and shook her head at Lita, but Serena spoke up. "You don't understand. To the rest of us lacking in culinary skills this is -"

"Freakin' amazing." The girls spun around to find Jay standing at the doorway, eyes huge as he took in the kitchen. Mina came in behind him and her eyes grew just as huge.

"Something smells good!" Robert Harris' bass voice boomed from the hallway.

"Of course it does!" Grandpa replied.

Grandpa was the first to come into sight. He headed straight for the food. Robert and Karen followed behind and stepped around Mina and Jay to come greet the girls. Serena was the first to give them hugs. She went on to greet Mina and Jay as everyone else said their hellos behind her.

"I didn't get a phone call from Ami. Did she talk to you?" Serena asked.

Mina gave Serena a puzzled look. "I _did _talk to her. She said that she'd phone you because we were all coming together and she probably didn't want to bother us."

Jay looked back and forth at the two girls. "She's not coming with her mom?"

"No," Serena replied. "Linda can only come after the dinner because she had something else going on first."

Before anything else could be said, the doorbell rang. Jay went to answer it and Serena followed behind. It was Kai and Nate along with Nate's parents at the door. More hugs and hellos ensued and just as they began to make their way into the dining room, Darien showed up with Dee and Lana. Jay closed the front door behind them. Serena was quick to pull Darien to the side after greeting him with a kiss and saying hello to the girls who moved further into the house.

"How is Dee? Is she ready to talk to Lita yet?" Serena couldn't stand it when people she loved were angry with each other. Sure, Dee had a right to be but they needed each other. Darien shrugged and rubbed his face in exhaustion.

"I don't know, hon. I don't think so. We'll take it one step at a time." Serena lightly caressed Darien's brow.

"Long day?"

"You don't know the half of it."

"Hey lovebirds! The honeymoon's been over for a while now!" Jay called over from where he was standing with Kai and Nate further down the hall. "We're all going to head into the dining room now. Lita and Rei are about ready."

Darien leaned over and smooched Serena before straightening up and smirking at Jay. "Jealous?"

"Maybe, maybe not!" Jay shot back.

"He's jealous," Nate confirmed, teasingly. Kai shook his head and shrugged at Serena.

Serena giggled and smacked Darien's shoulder. "Stop!" He leaned over and nuzzled her neck making her squeal with laughter.

"I can't. I'm addicted," he replied matter-of-factly.

"And I'm about to get my eat on. Please stop," Jay complained.

Nate tilted his head at the couple. "I think it's sweet."

Jay eyed him warily. "You would."

"But that's why we love Nate, hmm?" Rei cooed, having come up quietly behind the guys. She made sure to pinch Nate's cheeks for good measure as she teased him. "Come on, we're going to start. Ami can grab a plate when she gets here." Rei left the group and made her way back into the kitchen.

"_Now _Jay's jealous," Kai stated.

Jay flushed a dull red and followed after Rei. Serena had to work not to laugh but Nate and Darien weren't so compassionate. They began snickering as they all followed Rei into the dining room where everyone was gathered. Most of the food was laid out and all of the parents had taken a seat around the large table. Some would have to eat at the table in the kitchen, since there were so many of them. Chad had somehow made his way back into the house without anyone noticing and was currently licking his chops, staring at the food. Serena looked for Lita and found her seated next to Dee who was studiously ignoring Lita. Lita was smiling at the others but Serena could see the hurt in her eyes. She sighed. With two days to go until the anniversary party, Serena was asking for a couple of miracles, and she knew it.

Just as everyone sat down the doorbell rang. Mina, who was closest to the hallway, volunteered to get it.

"I've got it. It's probably Ami anyway."

She left the room and little conversations broke out around the room. Serena took in the welcome sight of everyone gathered around and took a deep breath. Darien noticed and he pulled her closer to his side. This, this feeling, this state of being with the ones you love most in the world were worth every miracle that love afforded. Serena looked at Lita and Dee once more, noting that they were a million miles apart despite being seated beside each other.

Mina came back into the room, eyes shining and a cheshire cat grin on her face. Serena knew that look and she immediately sought out Lita and Rei. Mina's mind was plotting things it probably shouldn't be plotting. They all exchanged a glance and watched as Ami entered the room behind Mina, flushed and almost hyperventilating with embarrassment. If that wasn't enough, eyebrows certainly raised when she was followed by an unknown, _very _handsome man. He was stylish, cool with a touch of bad boy and most definitely _not _Ami's type.

"Everyone this is Zach," Mina introduced. "He's from out of town. He came with Ami. Make him welcome."

Zach nodded and waved a hand in greeting. "Hullo!" He looked over the room but stopped when he caught sight of Kai. The surprised look on Zach's face was swiftly put away and a pleased, genuine smile broke out on his face. Serena may have sighed at the dimples that came with that delicious smile. She was married but could still appreciate beauty when she saw it.

"Malakai Rasmussen? What are you doing here – is this where you've been hiding out?"

Kai stood and smiled at Zach, making his way over to him. It was that real smile of his that usually left more than one lady a tad breathless when it appeared. Kai gave Zach a 'man hug' after clapping a hand on his back.

"Zach! It's good to see you, man. How's your grandmother?"

"She's not happy with you. She invited you to her birthday party and you declined. You're in the doghouse, man. Ah, but you already are with several people aren't you?"

Kai ran a hand through his hair. "You're telling me." He looked around and noticed for the first time that the whole room was watching their conversation with unabashed interest. "But this isn't the time or the place to discuss that."

Everyone sat and stared, a bit stunned at how easily Kai had just opened up. He was, at maximum, a one to twp sentence kind of guy. Even then, you were lucky if that sentence revealed anything about the guy! Rei, extraordinary hostess that she was, cleared her throat and clapped her hands calling attention back to the dinner about to go underway. "All right, let's get eating! We'll iron out the last few details for the anniversary party afterwards."

Everyone murmured their agreement began to tuck in to eat. After that point, Serena didn't have time to think of much else. It was time to _eat_.

* * *

Zach enjoyed being the center of attention but more than that, he enjoyed observing people. There was _plenty_ of observing to do at this little get-together. He couldn't rely on Ami to provide him with insider information because, well, because she disliked him _intensely_. Yes, she'd done the basics and introduced him to everyone during dinner and she'd been polite to him throughout the evening. Yet, now that he'd seen more of her life and the people that were most important to her, Zach could easily how he was being kept at a distance. Therefore, he'd have to rely on his observation skills and his top-notch ability to sniff out drama.

First and foremost, Kai Rasmussen was here and seemingly quite at home with these people. He was more relaxed than Zach had ever seen him with other people. The man could be so staid at times. Their friendship had been born and had been sustained precisely for the fact that they were polar opposites. Or rather, Zach's many lady friends would find Kai attractive and when he let them down in his no-nonsense manner, Zach would be there to comfort and soothe. They'd met in college, despite having grown up in the same circles. Zach would definitely have to find time to find out what was going on with him later.

He moved on to the young couple that Ami was speaking with. The woman, a pretty, short blonde, was gesturing wildly while her husband looked on fondly. They were cute, Zach supposed, in their newlywed kind of way. He'd spoken to Darien during dinner and the guy was all right. He could see how Kai could gravitate towards someone like that. Darien was intelligent, well-spoken and sharp. Yet, those were qualities that weren't exactly rare. Something about him was compelling and though Zach couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, he thought that perhaps, with some time that would change.

Zach's gaze moved to the hostess and her grandfather standing in the centre of the room talking to the Harris' and Thompsons. He'd certainly heard of Rei Hino but had never seen her until now. She was a beautiful, delicate woman. Her father, Roger Hino, rubbed shoulders with the likes of Kai's wildly rich father. Mr. Hino's prowess and capacity for ruthlessness were renowned among their circles back home. Rei, to put it simply, only took after her father in one way. That was in the way she easily commanded attention in a room. Otherwise, everything she did held a tranquil grace that Zach had never seen in her father and he figured that had something to do with being brought up by the man she was standing beside. Zach understood from his own experiences. He'd been brought up by his grandmother as well.

James Ishikawa was quite a character. Zach thought he was hilarious. James had peppered the dinner conversation with his sly comments and observations, providing laughter and drawing everyone into the conversation effortlessly. James was the way to go, if Zach wanted the inside track, with all of that charisma. Still, Zach wasn't quite decided on how long this Colford thing would last, so it might not be worth getting too close to anyone.

Zach's attention moved on to Mina, the girl who had answered the door while he'd been having a little bit of fun at Ami's expense. The little thing was so flighty, he'd merely invaded a bit more of her personal space than was proper before she'd rung the doorbell and she'd almost passed out on him again. Mina had opened the door in time to catch her friend. Zach chuckled to himself, Ami was like a cute little mouse, or something.

In all reality, outside of the farce he was currently living with Ami and her mother, Mina would likely be his ideal type. Willowy, leggy _and_ she had a face that belonged on a magazine cover. That peaches and cream complexion was begging for closer inspection. A _much _closer inspection. Zach's slow perusal of her very worthy profile was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a very male and a decidedly less appealing body, blocking Mina from his view.

His eyes snapped up to meet those of Kai. Kai's eyes were sparking a warning and Zach raised an eyebrow. This wasn't normal Kai behaviour. He almost never showed that much interest in women. Kai subtly tilted his head in the direction of Jaden Harris, who was currently giving him a cool, distrustful glare. Jaden's gaze moved several times between Ami and Zach and Zach could almost hear the gears whirring as Jaden tried to make the connections. No one really knew anything besides the fact that he was new in town and was staying with the Andersons, and was working at the local college. Zach merely nodded his way and gave him a polite smile before moving past them and past Ami who was now speaking with Nate, Kai's current roommate.

Zach could understand Kai's choice of a roommate. Nate was genuine without being overly saccharine, which was something of a rarity back home. He was the kind of guy you either liked because he was so likeable or hated for the same reason. Kai's apparent approval of the guy said a lot for his character, but Zach generally preferred to form his own opinions on people. He continued through the living room to the kitchen and wasn't surprised to find the evening's chef, fiddling with the desserts.

"You've got a lot of love in those fingers."

Lita spun around, probably not realizing that Zach had even entered the kitchen. She made a pretty sight – Zach had to wonder if there was something in the water. Colford women were extraordinarily pretty, or, at least the ones he'd met so far were very pretty. Her cheeks were flushed and soft flyaway curls had escaped her ponytail, due to the heat still circulating in the kitchen. Lita was tall and shapely, and only several inches shorter than he was. Zach willingly admitted that he was nowhere near Nate or Kai in terms of size but he wasn't short either. He'd often lamented his wiry frame growing up.

"Pardon?"

Zach smiled and spun around indicating the kitchen. "My grandmother always said that cooking could be an expression of love." He stopped and put a finger to his lips before pointing at Lita with the same finger. "You cook with lots of love."

Lita appeared at a loss for words for a moment as a soft red flush rose up her neck. "Umm, thank you."

"Thank _you_. Dinner was delicious."

Zach watched as Lita eyed him for a moment, sighed and put down the dish cloth she'd been wringing in her hands subconsciously. "Look, the everyone will tell you, I'm not very subtle when it comes to these kinds of things. What are you doing here with Ami?"

Zach opened his mouth to respond when Ami hurried into the kitchen, her worried gaze coming to rest on him. "Is everything ok in here?" she inquired. Zach shrugged and looked at Lita who merely raised an eyebrow and put a hand to her hip. Serena and Rei came into the kitchen then, their hands occupied with dirty dishes. Their conversation fell silent as they joined the awkward silence.

"We, uh, just wanted to see if you needed help, Lita." Serena's eyes darted back and forth between the three of them. "Did we interrupt something?"

Zach chuckled and replied, "No, not at all. I was simply giving my compliments to the chef. It was a delicious dinner."

"I agree. Lita, you're simply amazing! We can help you get dessert out so we can finish things up and send everyone home before it gets too late," Rei suggested.

"The dessert is buffet-style as well. Most of this, Rei and I bought. There was no time to put dessert together. I just need your help putting it out on the table so everyone can help themselves," Lita directed. Everyone nodded and Zach found himself collecting dirty dishes with Ami while the other girls laid out the dessert. As they were finishing up, Ami's mother arrived as did Serena's family. Zach didn't see them arrive, from the kitchen where he was loading the dishwasher with Ami. He did heard the greetings and new conversations in the next room and heard Ami softly mumble who the new additions to the party might be.

Just as Ami closed the dishwasher door and started it up, a familiar face peeked in on the two of them.

"You!" two voices exclaimed in unison. One voice, he knew, was his own. The other belonged to the kid from the gas station he'd stopped at upon his arrival in Colford. The one that reminded him of a puppy. Ami's bewildered gaze swung back and forth between the two of them. Zach sighed wondering whether everyone actually did know everyone else in this little town.

"I saw your car out front but had to make sure it was you. It's Sammy. I was the guy from the gas station a couple days ago. Small world, huh?"

Zach nodded and raised a hand in greeting. "That's exactly what I was thinking," he murmured. Sammy then turned to Ami and a soft look fell over his eyes.

"Hey Ami."

"Hello Sammy. How have you been?" He watched, fascinated, as a sweet, open smile replaced the closed, withdrawn look Ami usually wore when around Zach. Zach turned towards Sammy and watched as the boy literally grew more and more stupid with every second that he succumbed to Ami's smile.

"I've been good. Real good. Y-you look good," Sammy mumbled, stumbling over his words. "How have you been?"

"Good, I suppose," Zach mumbled under his breath. Ami glanced at him sharply, a warning in those deep, blue eyes. Zach lowered his head in response and studied the floor.

"I've been well, thanks. I came here straight from work, so you're probably being nicer about the truth of how I look. Zach picked me up actually. Zach, this is Serena's younger brother but you two seem to already know each other."

Zach could almost see Sammy's ears prick up at the idea of Ami spending time with unknown men. Zach stood, shoulders back and stared Sammy down as the kid sized him up. Great. What was it with these Anderson women and placing him in situations he wanted nothing to do with? The kid looked like he wanted to challenge Zach to a duel or something. He had no time for this. Ami wasn't a woman worth Zach's full charms. He doubted she could handle them.

"Oh yeah? Are you guys...together?" Despite his serious tone, it was hard for Sammy to hide the worry in his eyes.

Ami glanced back at Zach, her eyes widening with the thought of being associated with him in that way. "Oh no. No, no, no. Not at all. I mean, we came together but we're not together. He gave me a ride as a favour to – well, he's just staying with us but that doesn't mean – what...were...we talking about?"

Ami had gotten herself so flustered, she was beginning to hyperventilate. Zach laid a hand gently on her shoulder and leaned in close to her ear. He breathed in her scent. It was a clean scent, and it wasn't too flowery or too fruity. It was simple and understated. "Calm down, Little Miss," he whispered in her ear. Instantly, she stopped breathing. A moment later, Zach realized she hadn't re-started. In slight alarm, he placed his other hand against the small of her back. She breathed out sharply and sucked in a breath to began trying to regain her breath. Zach glanced at Sammy and the kid's eyes were bugging out. He returned his attention to Ami. "Relax, that's it."

Slowly, she relaxed and leaned back into his touch. Zach knew she wasn't doing it consciously, but decided not to comment on it. She might actually pass out or something. Sammy cleared his throat and both Ami and Zach looked up at him. He opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted by Mina speaking up from the doorway. Her eyes sparkled with amusment but she kept the rest of her face straight.

"We're going to get started now. You guys need to be over in the living room." She strolled over and getting up on her tiptoes, wrapped an arm around Sammy's neck. Deftly pulling his head down to her level, she gave him an enthusiastic noogie. "Come with me, Squirt. I need your help distracting Serena from the apple crumble. I want some too and so do you." She proceeded to drag Sammy from the kitchen, as he complained and whined in her hold.

There was a moment of silence and then, "You can let go of me now. I'm all right, thanks." Zach released Ami and put his hands in the air, slowly backing away. He stared at her staring at him. Zach appreciated the depth and mystery of her eyes. They held the of a bold intelligence and a shy, demure quality that he honestly didn't go for – but he appreciated it in her just the same. She didn't dress to impress and she was cute, at best. Not beautiful. Not sensational. Yet, despite the fact that she thought that he was dating her mother she never attacked him for it. She simply kept her frustration on a simmer. A defensive player, for sure.

"Do you play chess?"

"W-what?"

"We should play a game some time. You intrigue me."

"I-I...You confuse me. I don't understand you."

Zach chuckled. "Neither do I, but I think I'll figure myself out eventually."

Ami blinked at him several times and then sighed. Linda materialized out of nowhere at the doorway, blinking at him like her daughter had just done. "Will you two be joining us?"

Zach exchanged a glance with Ami before gesturing that she go first. He followed after the Andersons fully aware of the looks they were receiving as everyone tried to figure out what their connection was. He exchanged a glance with Linda, whose glance was more apologetic.

It was only a matter of time after all until everyone figured it out. He'd play his part for now.

* * *

**AN: **Would you accept a super-long chapter in return for a super-long wait? Sorry for taking so long...life will be a lot more busy for the next (long) while and the more I write the more I figure this story will last longer than I thought it would initially. I'll do my best to update semi-regularly, though (emphasis on the 'semi'). * dramatic sigh *

Hurray for everyone being together all at once! The next chapter will have a continuation of this evening and the next three chapters, or so, will be about the Anniversary party.

As always, my sincere thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter: **Isis Aurora Tomoe, Rawr Supertastic and LoveInTheBattleField**. In answer to Rawr Supertastic..._10 million points to you_! Sammy is Shingo and the Ayakashi sisters and some Dark Kingdom peeps will be making small appearances here and there.

Read, enjoy and review! Tell me what you thought of this overly-long and too cramped chapter...haha!


	7. Chapter 7

** Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Sailor Moon.

* * *

Lita could breathe now. The dinner was over, everyone was enjoying dessert and they were currently running through what they had planned for the coming weekend. Throughout the evening, she'd managed to have a moment with just about everyone. Some moments had been better than others.

While she freely admitted that she was a blunt person, she also knew that she wasn't obtuse. Lita had only lingered where she was wanted, meaning that she'd greeted Dee but hadn't pursued anything more. She'd been polite and friendly with Mrs. Thompson, but knew enough to keep at a distance for the sake of her own temper. Lita's hands clenched unconsciously. While she could understand disapproval regarding her choices and her current situation, it wasn't anyone's right to look down on her. Lita took a deep breath to calm herself down.

She thought of her conversation with Grandpa the other day, in his study. He'd warned her that she wouldn't be well-received everywhere after being away for six years. She'd replied that she knew that and had _tried_ to prepare herself for it. Lita placed her chin in her upturned palm as she sat on the end of one of the couches. Somehow, she'd ended up pouring out her story to Grandpa. There'd been no time to go through everything but she'd given him the heaviest bits. He'd been serious and tender in that way that reminded her of Rei, and listened to every word without interrupting. Really, she shouldn't have been surprised. Despite his silliness, he was one of the most genuine men she knew.

"Earth to Lita!" Serena's voice rang out in her mind and Lita started to find everyone looking at her expectantly. She blushed.

"I'm sorry! I was a million miles away," she offered. Mina raised an eyebrow and nodded at her.

"We could see that. Anyway, we're just running through this weekend to make sure we've got everything sorted. Ami! You're up."

Ami nodded and sat up, notebook and pen in hand and her glasses perched on her head. Lita smiled fondly at this familiar image of Ami. Her smile faded when she saw Zach sitting on the other side of Linda who was sitting in between the two, looking quite comfortable. Lita was a pretty good judge of character and while she didn't dislike the guy outright, something was _definitely _up. Ami cleared her throat and Lita began to pay attention.

"Set-up and decorations will be happening the afternoon before the wedding. Grandpa's already got the lights and bigger things in place so it's mostly the smaller items and chairs." She paused and took a breath and focused her gaze on Grandpa. "What time would you like everyone here for?"

He shrugged and scratched his chin. "If we have enough hands, and there are certainly enough in the house right now, we could start around five pm. It shouldn't take us too long. Then you'd have enough time to kidnap the unsuspecting couple afterwards. Between Chad, Jay and myself we've gotten the pergola, walkways and the reception area ready."

Nate's father, Carter perked up. "I've been back there James. Who does your pruning? I've been looking. If I do it myself, I can never get it right." Lita smiled as Mrs. Thompson fixed her husband with _the_ look then shook her head with a soft smile. The men in the room chuckled as Carter sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Leave our garden at home, Carter, dear."

"It doesn't hurt to ask, my love."

Ami cleared her throat to continue a small smile lingering on the corners of her lips. "The night before the vow renewals Luna and Art will both be...kidnapped. The women are bringing Luna to Darien and Serena's place to prepare. The men are bringing Art here to prepare."

"Aren't they the least bit suspicious that something's going on?" Jay questioned. "I mean, we're all meeting up periodically and they're never included. I'm just saying I would want to know what was going on."

"Ah, see but they don't know about it so why would they question it? I mean you didn't know that Darien, Kai and I have been meeting up every week without you, right?" Nate replied, serious as could be.

Jay narrowed his eyes at the three men. Each one met his gaze straight-faced and serious. Lita smothered a laugh behind her palm. She noted that Mina's eyes were shining with amusement. Rei had a hand over her mouth and was looking the other way, avoiding Jay's gaze. Jay's eyes widened as his gaze returned to Nate but narrowed once more the instant Darien and several others in the room began chuckling.

"That ain't cool, boys."

Ami held up a hand to gain everyone's attention. "All of the essentials are covered for the ceremony and Mina or I will have spoken to you if you have a part in it." Here Ami looked over at Mina who nodded her head.

"That's right. Is everyone clear on their duties for the ceremony?" Mina asked, looking around the room. There were several nods and assenting grunts or murmurs. "If you have questions, ask them _before _the ceremony, please! Give us enough time to address them."

Jay mock-saluted his sister. "Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" There were several snickers here and there as Mina rolled her eyes at him.

"Grow up, _brother_."

"The minute you do, _sister_."

Rei intervened before anything could escalate further. "Children, wait until we're done and _then _do your growing up."

Karen Harris beamed at Rei. "That's my girl!" Rei smiled back at Karen but it faded into a slight grimace the minute Karen turned towards Jay and began motioning towards Rei with her head, making encouraging noises. This time Nate came to the rescue.

"As you were saying, Ami?"

Ami nodded gratefully at Nate. "Thanks, Nate. Aside from taking part during the ceremony, the next most important item that needs to be addressed is guest arrival and seating."

Here, Dee spoke up. "Lana and Mel are handling that, right Lana?"

"That's right. We're all over the ushering for the ceremony." Lana agreed.

Ami took a moment to jot that down in her notebook. "Perfect. Would you mind doing the reception as well?"

Lana sighed exaggeratedly but winked at her mother when Mrs. Thompson clucked her tongue expectantly at her daughter. "Will we still get to enjoy ourselves?"

Dee answered her. "You won't be waiting on the guests hand and foot, just get them to their seats and then you're both off the hook."

Lana shrugged. "As long as Mel is cool with it, I'm in."

"I'll have the seating plan printed for you both the morning of." Ami said as she wrote a few more things down in her notebook.

Lita sat there feeling a tad bit out of her depth among the place she should've felt most comfortable in. The conversation continued and flowed around her as everyone gave their two bits in to the planning and confirmed what their duties were throughout the day. She looked around the room. These were the people she'd grown up with and held close to her heart, but even sitting here listening to all the ways they'd come together to organize this for Luna and Art, she couldn't find the words. Lita looked down at her hands, and began analyzing them while comparing the life she'd led to the lives they were each leading.

Sometimes she just...felt so out of place.

"...cake?"

Lita looked up in surprise. "Hmm?" She didn't miss how the girls exchanged a glance and Darien and Nate were looking at her expectantly. "I'm sorry, I missed that."

Mrs. Thompson sighed and repeated her question. "I asked whether you would be needing a hand with the cake, seeing as you've taken it all upon yourself and you still have your two children to look after."

"Mother..." Nate groaned behind his hand. He looked slightly mortified but Lita could understand there wasn't much else he could do in this situation. The silence after her question was slightly awkward. Lita flushed and sat up straight before answering her.

"I'll be fine, Mrs. Thompson, thank you for asking." Lita shifted her attention to Ami. "I've already started preparing what I'll need so I'm aiming to have it done for the morning but if it isn't, it'll definitely be ready by the reception."

Ami nodded and jotted it down in her notebook. "All right, next item of business, I'll be handling the photography during the reception so make sure..."

Lita's attention left the conversation as she let out a small exhale and met Nate's warm gaze. A soft smile came, unbidden, to her lips at the sight of his encouraging grin.

* * *

Mina put her hands on her hips and heaved a big sigh. She watched as everyone began piling out of Rei's home, en masse, to their vehicles. Mina heard Serena's giggle and snapped her fingers. She had one more thing to discuss about the wedding day. She made a beeline straight for Serena, smiled politely at Kai, Zach and Linda, whom she'd been conversing with and dragged her away.

"Mina! What's up? What's with all the roughhandling?" Serena put her foot down and yanked her arm away from Mina's grip, indignantly.

"I had to talk to you before I forgot to tonight. If you wanted to involve Lita and/or the kids in the ceremony, I can get them dressed for it so that you're all matching. I kind of took the liberty of preparing something for them to wear once I knew they would be here for the anniversary party. Let me know by tomorrow, ok?"

Serena stared at Mina, her eyes filling with tears before moving forward to crush her in a bear-hug. "You're a doll, Mina."

Mina merely sighed and wrapped her arms around Serena. "I know it."

Serena stepped back and met Mina's gaze. "I can't make the decision on my own. I know that Art, Luna and Darien wouldn't mind but it just wouldn't be fair to Dee to not respect what she thinks." They both turned to watch the young woman talking animatedly to Nate's little sister at the door.

"She kept sneaking glances at Lita all night, you know."

"I do know," Mina sighed. "They're both so stubborn." She gestured towards Lita with her hand. "I don't like how thin she's getting."

"Rei and I noticed that as well, earlier. I just don't know what to do! They know I think of them as my sisters, so there's no way I could choose sides or something. This is horrible." Serena groaned. Mina lifted up a hand to stop Serena from continuing.

"You don't need to worry about it. They love each other and they've got us," Mina indicated the space between herself and Serena. "Eventually, they'll work something out."

Serena nodded glumly heaved a sigh."Besides," Mina slyly began, "Your concern should be making me an Aunty! Get busy, lady. Lita's darlings aren't enough, even if they _are_ super-adorable."

In true-Serena fashion, Serena began choking on air. Everyone that was left in the house turned and reacted but Mina was too busy whacking Serena's back to notice.

"Breathe, honey! Breathe! You've got to be living to make me an – mmph!" Mina was cut off by Kai's hand over her mouth and his arm around her waist, as he removed her bodily from the situation. Darien stepped in and made sure his wife was all right.

"Nate and I are giving you and Jay a ride home. Your parents left already." Kai alerted her quietly, but Mina was too distracted. She squirmed in his hold to try and get a look at Serena. Kai loosened his hold but didn't release her, allowing her to turn in his arms and stand on her tiptoes to peer over his shoulder. Serena was recovered and already ensconsced in her husband's embrace, but she was still red in the face.

Mina met her gaze and mouthed an apology her way, her eyebrows scrunched together in concern. Serena tried to appear gruff, but as always, that beautiful smile made it's way to her face, as she shook her fist half-heartedly at Mina. Mina merely blew a kiss her way before watching her best friend get swept out the door by her husband, Lita and Dee in tow. Mina raised an eyebrow. That combination of people in the same vehicle meant _something _was going down tonight. She'd have to wait until tomorrow to get the low-down.

Kai huffed and because of their proximity, she could feel his breath tickle her ear. Mina slowly lowered herself and met his gaze.

"_What_?" she asked, as if the last few minutes hadn't happened. "We had things to talk about."

Kai simply shook his head and said, "Let's get you and Jay home."

Mina smiled up at Kai before grabbing his arm to lead him outside. "Let's do that."

* * *

Darien kept sneaking glances in his rearview mirror at the backseat of his car. The tension radiating from that direction was stifling. He looked down momentarily when he felt Serena's hand slip over his. She didn't say anything but gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"So..." he ventured into the silence. It didn't work, no one had reacted beyond exchanging glances. "I guess not," he sighed.

"Dee, are we dropping you off at the dorms? Or are you staying with Art and Luna?" Serena tried to get a response from the back seat.

Instead of Dee answering, Lita spoke up instead.

"Let's _all _go home. It looks like we've got things to talk about, that is, if you have the time."

"For you, Lita, we have time."

Dee snorted and the tension rose that much higher. Darien exchanged a glance with Serena before taking another look in his rearview mirror. Dee and Lita were each looking out their own windows, sitting as far as possible from each other. Darien met Dee's sullen gaze in the mirror and raised an eyebrow at her behaviour. He knew she got the message when she looked away, slightly abashed. He held in a sigh, knowing any noise he made would only aggravate the situation.

Darien simply focussed on getting everyone to their destination.

* * *

When they arrived, Darien and Serena hung back as Dee let them all in with her set of keys. After removing her shoes, Dee headed straight for the kitchen without looking back. Lita sighed and watched her walk away.

"I'm just going to go check on the kids. Would you wait for me in the kitchen with Dee?"

Darien watched Lita's face for a moment before answering. It suddenly became clear that Lita wasn't quite looking like herself. Her face was wan, her green eyes were dimmed with exhaustion and now that he looked her over, she was looking a little gaunt. Her jeans were sitting a little loose on her lower body and it didn't look _right_. It was worrying. Serena gently took his hand, bringing him out of his silent perusal of Lita.

"Of course."

Lita made her way down to the basement and Darien closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with his free hand.

"She feels so far away lately and now it's beginning to _look_ like she's wasting away," he murmured. Darien took a deep breath and shook his head in frustration. "I can't help someone who won't let me in."

"It's heartbreaking," Serena agreed. "We can start by listening to what she has to say, though."

"I agree."

Serena and Darien looked up in surprise to find Luna standing there, a pensive expression on her face. "Come in, darlings. I've got some tea on."

They followed her in and weren't surprised to find Art in the kitchen with Dee, but it was the little man in Art's arms that was a nice surprise. Serena rushed forward to greet Marcus but slowed when she observed him burrow further into Art's embrace. Darien watched as Art rolled his eyes.

"Hey Marc! Aunty Serena's here! Don't you want to say hello?" Art prompted.

Marc shook his head and remained where he was in Art's arms. Serena stepped forward and leaned forward to say, "I'm happy to see you, Marc! Mom should be up soon, I think she's checking on your sister."

Marc merely nodded his head without turning to look at Serena. She backed off and found a seat by Art. Darien glanced towards Dee and found her watching the scene with a small grin on her face, her eyes glued to Marc. Everyone turned when they heard Lita's footsteps coming down the hallway. The first thing her eyes landed on was her son.

"Marc, baby, it's time for bed."

Immediately, Marc came alive. He wiggled around in Art's grasp, to get free and ran to his mother. Lita was ready and waiting to scoop him up. She kissed his cheek and patted his back.

"Your sister is in bed. Where should you be, little Mister?" she asked.

"In bed, Mommy, but I was missing you so much!" Marc exclaimed with a little yawn.

"You were missing me so much, hmm?" Lita repeated, winking at Art and Luna. Darien stifled a chuckle behind his hand as Serena tittered beside him. Even Dee let a chuckle escape. "Ok, let's go to bed, then." She directed her attention to the rest of the room. "Just give me a moment and then we can get down to business."

After she left, the remaining five sat in various places in the kitchen looking at each other.

"I'm kind of nervous for this," Serena finally admitted. Luna nodded in understanding and Darien rubbed his hands together.

"This isn't an easy thing for her," Luna cautioned.

"You _can't_ just pull that, Mom," Dee argued. "It's not like this has been a cake walk for us either. So all of a sudden, when she comes back, we're supposed to forget everything and treat her like nothing ever happened? That's crap."

"Dee!" Luna admonished. Art put a hand on Luna's shoulder as he addressed his daughter.

"I know how I've raised you, Kitty, and I know it was to show a bit more respect than that." Dee opened her mouth to reply but Art held up a hand. "Still, I can understand where you're coming from and I won't belittle that. I can't."

Darien cleared his throat. "Why don't we all just calm down and give Lita a chance to have her say? It might clear up a few problems before we even have them."

"You haven't changed one bit, Darien. Do you know that? Always the diplomat big brother," Lita said from where she stood behind him. Darien spun around on his bar stool at the kitchen island to face her.

Lita looked around the room making sure to meet everyone's gaze before landing on Dee last. "I'm not asking for a free pass and I wasn't expecting one when I made the decision to come back."

Luna got up from where she was sitting at the kitchen table and motioned for Lita to sit down. She chose a spot between Art and Luna, thanking Luna when she returned to the table with Lita's cup of tea. They all sat silently, waiting, as Lita took a sip of her tea. Darien watched as she inhaled the scent of the tea before taking a sip. He smiled at the familiar action. She'd done that for as long as he could remember. Always savouring the flavours that came her way. Lita put the cup down and took a deep breath, smiling when Art put a hand over one of her own.

"I guess I'll start at the beginning. This all started, um, around the second last year of high school. I met Freddie at a party."

"At Molly's birthday party? Right? I totally remember you disappearing for, like, the whole evening," Serena interrupted. She grimaced when everyone turned her way. "Sorry. I'll stay quiet."

Lita's smile was tinged with sadness. "Yes, at Molly's party. He was older than I was, handsome, living on his own and just seemed to get where I was at the time, you know, in my head. That was amazing to me. It all sounds so corny, but when you're a teen, finding that special connection comes before making sure it's a stable connection." Lita sighed.

"We began dating but kept it under wraps. It was more exciting if only we knew about what was happening between us. The relationship began to take up all of my time and attention. Which is why I began fading out of the relationships I had with all of you." Her gaze swept around the room before resting on Art's hand covering her own.

"I don't know if you and Luna realize how happy I was living here with both of you. When my parents died, it felt like I couldn't take a breath. If I did, the reality of them never coming home to me would sink in and at the time I couldn't deal with that. I just couldn't." Her voice wavered and Darien felt himself identifying with what she was saying.

"When I went to my first foster home, it was fine for a while. I was just starting middle school. I never considered them my family but I had a home, I was fed and I wasn't alone. Then my foster parents got pregnant and it was their first child together. They'd been unable to have a child previously. The little one took up all of their attention and time and I understood that, or at least I understood it as much as I could for an eleven year old. Then they began forgetting to pick me up from school here and there. I won't bore you with the details inbetween but it escalated until they left me behind at their house for a weekend. They wanted to visit family with their son and since I wasn't family," she paused and sucked in a breath. "Well, you get the idea."

Serena sniffed lightly and grabbed his hand. Darien squeezed back.

"Anyway, a neighbour figured out that I'd been left behind, called the proper authorities and I was out of that house in a minute. I was relieved and terrified at the same time. I wouldn't have to deal with their neglect but was I going somewhere worse?"

Here she took hold of Art and Luna's hands, one in each of her own, and squeezed. "Then I landed on your doorstep." She sniffed once, twice and began to sob quietly. Serena let go of Darien's hand and slipped off her stool. She returned in moments with a tissue box and a hug for Lita before returning to her place. Art and Luna were tearing up and even Darien had to clear his throat a few times as he sniffed here and there. He noted that Dee was surreptitiously wiping at her eyes from her seat in the corner of the kitchen. It was a moment or two before Lita could start up again.

"This house was so full of life, and love and people _all the time_." Here, Art snorted and Luna chuckled. "All at once, I had committed parents, I was a daughter, having siblings made me a middle-child, I had friends at school that _wouldn't _leave me alone and I didn't know how to handle that either."

She smiled fondly at Darien and Dee. "Darien, you were a peach." He chuckled and winked at her. "I'm serious. There were no other seventeen year old boys who would take me in like you did." Lita looked over at Dee. "No matter what I might've said at the time, I loved having a nine year old shadow." Dee looked up, a hesitant smile on her face.

"We were doing good but I couldn't let go of a lot of things and I turned Freddie into my escape. The night we left, was a week after I turned old enough to get married without needing consent. A justice of the peace married us and we were off to live our happily ever after." Darien watched as she shook her head, lost in her memories. Lita reached just inside her shirt and brought out a golden chain with a wedding ring dangling on it, for them to see.

"We moved several cities over and found an apartment with money we'd saved up, found jobs and in no time I was pregnant with Charlie. Everything seemed to be going exactly the way we'd dreamed. Until Freddie got laid off and I had to go back to work. He began changing, slowly at first, but before I knew it, I was living with someone I didn't know. I was probably changing too and we were too young to understand how to grow with each other."

Lita paused and took several breaths before getting into her story once more. "Freddie found work again and the Freddie that I loved was back, until I got pregnant with Marc. We were too young, barely managing our jobs and our apartment and raising a family. We couldn't handle it, so it was Freddie's idea to move back in with his parents."

"I didn't have a very good relationship with Freddie's parents. His mother, especially. They wanted more for their son than a wife with a minimum wage job and two children under the age of two. We were more stable, financially, but Freddie and I were moving further apart. He wanted to make his parents happy, I had my own ideas about which direction our family should head in. Unfortunately, just after we arrived, Freddie's father died. It was a heartattack."

There was a sharp intake of breath and everyone looked in Serena's direction. She merely shrugged and motioned for Lita to continue.

"So many things were going on, I think Maria – that's Freddie's mom – found it easier to blame me for things rather than deal with them. His father's death placed more pressure on Freddie to provide for us that he just became a workaholic. He was never home. He got sick and I tried to tell him that he could slow down and together, we could work something out. Freddie wouldn't listen." Lita wiped at the tears steadily coursing down her cheeks.

"He passed away from pneumonia two years ago. I stayed on with his mother until I realized I couldn't raise my kids in a home where I was hated, no matter how much Maria loves them. Art and Luna persuaded me to come home with the children and here we are!"

There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to digest the information Lita had just given them. Darien's mind raced with questions to ask about details he was sure she'd left out but he held himself back. The questions might be too much, too soon.

"That doesn't explain how you kept in touch with Mom and Dad all these years," Dee pointed out.

"I sent them pictures of the children growing up and let them know how we were doing often. I confided in them but as per my wishes, they didn't interfere with anything."

"It wasn't easy," Art admitted. "We were ready to steal you three away after some of the e-mails you'd send us."

Lita smiled. "I know." She addressed everyone once more. "That's my story. I won't ask you to treat me with pity or special treatment. I won't expect us to be able to pick up where we left off. I'm asking for your forgiveness and another chance."

"We couldn't love you any less or any more, Sugar," Art stated. "We love having you here."

Lita nodded tearfully and reached for another tissue. Darien jumped as he felt Serena's elbow connect with his side. She motioned for him to say something. Darien rolled his eyes affectionately at her.

"You're a part of us whether you like it or not," Darien started. "Serena would like to add an emphasis on the 'or not' part." Serena's head bobbed up and down in the affirmative, enthusiastically, earning some chuckles around the room.

They all looked to Dee expectantly and if Darien were honest, a bit hesitantly. She met their gazes head-on without flinching. "I-I need to think about things. Umm, I'm staying here tonight and I'm beat, so I'm going to bed first."

They watched silently as she left the room. Lita was the first to speak up.

"Well, that's that. You two had better get home, I know you have to work tomorrow Darien. I'm sorry for keeping you so late."

Darien shook his head as Serena dashed over to hug her friend. "Don't be, you're worth it. All right, we do have to head out but we'll see you guys soon, hmm?"

Art and Luna nodded as Lita smiled in Serena's embrace, "Can't wait."

* * *

Kai stepped inside his room, closed the door, tossed his keys on his desk and collapsed backwards onto his bed. As he stared at the ceiling, he recalled the night's events and rubbed his face with his hands.

He didn't know the specifics but there had been a lot of things happening under Rei's roof tonight. Zach's presence in Colford was a huge surprise. Kai had mixed feelings about seeing his friend at the get-together.

On the one hand, it would be great to have someone who understood his situation fully, to speak to. On the other hand, it was like having the world he left behind come that much closer to his door step. On the one hand, it was Zach in Colford _with _him. On the other, Zach was somehow mixed up with Ami and her mother and Kai certainly hadn't missed the look in his eyes when he caught sight of Mina.

Kai shook his head. The way he felt for Mina wasn't going to stay hidden for long with Zach in the picture. He often felt a fool, feeling the way he did for her, especially since she was Jay's little sister. If someone asked him right now to explain or quantify his feelings, he would respond that he wouldn't be able to. Yet, he'd determined long ago that he wouldn't let the feelings become anything other than feelings. Kai could give Mina that much.

There was a knock on the door and Nate poked his head inside. "You gonna be up late tonight, bro?"

Kai nodded before sitting up. "I've got to get that song finished. I have no idea how but I'll get it done."

Nate nodded and shuffled his feet for a bit. Kai raised an eyebrow. Nate caught the eyebrow raise and chuckled sheepishly. "I was just wondering, was my mom a bit intense with Lita tonight? I mean, she wasn't horrible but she wasn't nice either. She just doesn't approve of Lita's situation and I was just thinking -"

"Lita will be fine."

Nate tilted his head and shrugged. "You think?"

Kai nodded. "I think. Good night, man."

Nate smiled. "Yeah."

After he left, Kai stared at the door. That had been something else he'd noticed tonight, the way Nate and Lita -

_Ring! Ring!_

His phone was ringing. Jay often commented on how funny it was that he had chosen such a non-descript, old-fashioned ring tone. Kai glanced at the number and immediately his shoulders dropped.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Malakai."

"I know it's you, Ace. What's up?"

"Where's a good place in Colford to have dinner? You know, the place you'd go if you'd like to give someone a special evening."

The conversation hadn't even started and Kai was exhausted. "Why do you want to know? Wouldn't you prefer to whisk them off to some five-star?"

"Aah, I don't think that would affect her the way I would like her to be affected."

Kai narrowed his eyes. "Is this about that girl you've been writing on napkins to? Who is she?" His mind had already made a connection but everything else was hoping he'd made the wrong one.

"Wouldn't you like to know, brother?"

Kai had had enough. "I'm done. Talk to you later." He hung up on his end. Kai groaned and clenched his jaw. He got up and left his room to go into the studio. Kai put on a set of headphones, sat on the piano bench and began running his fingers up and down his piano, to warm them up.

He paused and gazed at the unfinished composition that he'd been working on lately. Kai tried to put everything from his mind except the next note and only the next note.

Keyword: _try_.

* * *

**AN**: I know. Long delay! Thank you all for your patience. We will begin moving into the wedding stuff soon! Since it's been such a long time since the last chapter, I want to know about my pacing. Was it too much too fast, or was it fine?

Lita's always having a hard time in my stories, it seems, hmm?

I'll try not to have as long a wait between this and the next chapter, but it's difficult with the longer chapters.

Enjoy and please review!


End file.
